Lost in a Sea of Green
by tenyaaaaah
Summary: Weasley and Slytherin, two things that shouldn't be mixed. When 11-year-old, Dominique Weasley, gets Sorted into Slytherin...will it bring the two opposing sides together, or keep them further apart?
1. The Beginning of What Feels Like the End

**_A/N: _**_Hey all :-)  
><em>_First of all, I'd like to thank you for clicking on the link that sent you here...that means you're interested in reading the story before even reading the story...so thank you!_  
><em>Second of all, I'd like to add that this is NOT my first attempt at fanfiction, but this IS my first published one, which means that any feedback you can give me will improve my writing immensely.<br>__Thirdly, you may be wondering why I've chosen to write about Dominique instead of, say, one of the Potters, of Scorpius Malfoy...well, it was because I wanted to try something different. Hardly anyone writes outside those characters, and I wanted to explore something different.  
><em>_Please feel free to pm/tweet me at anytime concerning anything (details on my profile)._

_**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the brilliant mind of JK Rowling.**_

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><p><strong>Chapter One: The Beginning of What Feels Like the End<strong>

Dominique Weasley stepped up nervously as her name was called out by the deputy headmaster, Filius Flitwick. By the time she reached the three-legged stool, she was shaking slightly. She wasn't used to the pressure. Before the Sorting Hat covered her grey eyes, she caught sight of her sister, Victoire, sitting with Teddy Lupin - a family friend. Victoire was in her fourth year at Hogwarts, Teddy in his sixth. Both were in Gryffindor house.  
>The Sorting Hat took a while to decide where to put her, and when she heard the result of her Sorting, she wondered why it didn't take longer to think.<br>"SLYTHERIN!"

Walking over to the cheering Slytherins, Dominique shot her sister a look of pure shock horror. Victoire looked back sympathetically. Dominique sat down amongst the green and grey and felt as gloomy as the Bloody Baron looked. She watched her cousin, Roxanne Weasley, get Sorted into Gryffindor and watched Roxanne's elder brother, Fred, hug her, congratulating her. She saw Victoire and Teddy pat Roxanne on the back and felt green (no pun intended) with envy. She had wanted a welcome like that. Suddenly, the girl sitting next to her nudged her elbow.

"Aren't you going to eat?" the girl asked, a little concerned. Dominique looked down at the table and saw, to her surprise, it filled with plates and plates of food. The Sorting was over, and it seemed she had zoned out of Professor McGonagall's Welcome Speech.  
>"Yeah, sure," Dominique said, gloomily piling potatoes onto her golden plate.<br>"What's up?" the girl asked, noticing that something was wrong.  
>"It's nothing," Dominique answered.<br>"No, something's up," the girl disagreed with her. "We should all be happy to be here at Hogwarts. I mean, I've dreamt of being here after I heard all the stories of my parents and their time here."  
>"I AM happy to be here at Hogwarts," Dominique said truthfully. "And I've been looking forward to it ever since my sister got her letter."<br>"You have a sister that goes here? What year?"  
>"Fourth, but-"<br>"Is she in Slytherin?" the girl interrupted.  
>"No," Dominique hung her head.<br>"Ahh," the girl sighed, almost understandingly. "You wanted to be Sorted into her house, didn't you?"  
>"Yes," Dominique said slowly. "And no..."<br>"What's the other problem then?"  
>"Never in a million years did I think I'd be Sorted into Slytherin," she confessed.<br>"Why's that?"  
>"I'm a Weasley," Dominique said. "And -<br>The girl interrupted, "Weasleys don't belong in Slytherin."  
>"Yeah..." Dominique looked at her suspiciously.<br>"I'm Alexandra Malfoy," the girl finally introduced herself.  
>"Malfoy, as in..." Dominique was a little lost for words<br>"Daughter of Draco and Astoria? Yes," Alexandra confirmed.  
>"Wow, okay, now," Dominique said. "Don't be offended, but I can't be seen talking to you."<br>"I'm not offended," Alexandra said pleasantly. "But remember, you've been Sorted into Slytherin for a reason. You belong here now, not in Gryffindor with the Weasley clan."  
>"Well," Dominique looked at her sceptically before beginning to smile. "I suppose I could give this friendship a go."<br>Alexandra smiled at her.

After a very filling meal, Professor McGonagall bade them all a good night, and there was a scramble from every house to get to their common rooms. Dominique and Alexandra sat amongst the other first-years, waiting for instructions. Some older students were still mingling about, talking to their friends from other houses, nobody really took notice of first-years. Suddenly, two older students made their way over.  
>"First-years, hi, I'm Madeleine Nicholson, and this is Lucas Everton, we're your fifth-year prefects. If you'd like to follow us, we'll lead you to the Slytherin Common Room," one of them said.<br>She was tall, and when she walked, her robes billowed behind her. The boy standing beside her was also tall, well-built, and had a mop of brown hair. The first-years all stood up, and followed Madeleine. Lucas walked at the back of the group.  
>"My father was a Prefect," Alexandra said as they walked through the Great Hall doors into the Entrance Hall.<br>"So was mine," Dominique said. They turned right whilst many other students were turning left towards the marble staircase.  
>"So you girls have family that went here?" Lucas joined in their conversation. They were now at the back of the group, having stopped for a little bit of sight-seeing.<br>"Dom still does actually," Alexandra said. Dominique shot her a look that clearly read as 'shut up'. Alexandra got the message because she hastily added, "But enough about us. What about you? Got any family here?"  
>Lucas nodded, "That one there." He pointed at the back of a tall boy who was with their group. "Just got Sorted today."<br>"Oh, aren't you glad he's in Slytherin?" Alexandra smiled.  
>"Very pleased," Lucas agreed. "Now, listen to Maddy, I'm terrible at these speech things, and you probably can't trust me to repeat information."<br>Dominique and Alexandra laughed.

"Well, first-years, just down this corridor is our common room. It's in the dungeon, which, though not as comfortable in the winter, there is a roaring fireplace inside. If you'll follow me, our password is 'Magic Draconis'," Madeleine explained. "Luke, make sure to repeat this to those at the back!" she called out.  
>Lucas rolled his eyes at Dominique and Alexandra. He raised a hand to show Madeleine that he heard. A little serpent was etched into the wall beside the opening. Dominique touched it as she walked past.<br>"This is the Slytherin Common Room," Madeleine explained. "This is where you'll spend most of your spare time - obviously, you can wander the grounds and visit the library in that time too. The curfew for first-years is eight o'clock, so make sure you're back here by then." She looked to Lucas.  
>"Um, you guys must be tired, so you see that little passageway there? Well, first-year dormitories are closest to the common room. Girls are on the right, boys on the left," Lucas pointed. Madeleine nodded at him in encouragement. "Um, well, have a good night's rest, and we'll meet you all back here in the morning." Muttering to himself, he said quite audibly, "Although I think it's the sixth-year Prefects who take you to the Great Hall for breakfast..."<br>"You did a good job, Luke," Madeleine smiled at him.

Dominique, despite being one of the last into the Common Room, was the first to reach her dormitory. She read the plaque saying 'First-Year Girls', and entered.  
>"Wow," she muttered. Matching the green light of the Common Room, the five four-poster beds had emerald green curtains. All the luggage was in the middle of the room, and Dominique looked around, trying to decide which bed she wanted. In the end, she opted for the one next to the window. You couldn't see much, but occasionally, one could spot a merperson or a Grindylow swimming past, and on the rare occasion, one could catch sight of the giant squid itself. As she was dragging her luggage over, Alexandra walked in.<br>"This is cosy," she commented, and pulled her trunk to the bed next to Dominique. The two girls decided to decorate their bedside tables. As they did so, the other girls came in, but before introductions were even made, each girl decided that they were extremely tired, and as soon as their heads hit the pillow, sleep came quicker than one would ever think it could come.

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><p><em><strong>AN:** What did y'all think? Leave me a review to tell me how I'm going, and if you've got stories to share, I'll promote them on my Facebook page :-) x  
><em>


	2. Wandering

**_A/N:_**_ G'day! This is a slightly longer chapter...so I hope it's okay. R&R if you'd like...I don't know when the next chapter will be up. Happy reading! x_

**Disclaimer:** My idol, JK Rowling, owns everything here, except for the characters that I created (that is, the ones that were NOT in the Harry Potter series :)).

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: Wandering<strong>

Dominique awoke as someone pulled back the curtain of her four-poster. She looked up at Alexandra and smiled.  
>"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," Alexandra said.<br>"I'm up, I'm up," Dominique muttered.  
>Alexandra left her side to call up the other girls. After getting dressed, during which there's as a meet and greet session, and hesitating to put on her Slytherin tie, the girls followed Dominique into the common room, where Madeleine was waiting to welcome them to their first day at Hogwarts.<p>

"How was your sleep, girls?" she asked kindly as they stood around her.  
>"It was fine," the brunette girl who had introduced herself as Cassidy Rose said. "Those four-posters are really comfortable!"<br>"I know right?" Madeleine agreed with her. "Four years here, and I still can't believe how comfortable they are!"  
>"What are we waiting for?" one of the other girls asked. Dominique looked at her trying to remember her name. "I thought we were meant to go down for breakfast," she complained. Spencer, that's it! Spencer Richardson.<br>"Yes, we're waiting for the sixth-year Prefect to take you," Madeleine explained. "We take it in turn to care for the common room, and such. It's a tradition. And here she is..."  
>A dirty blonde with curly locks approached them. She addressed Madeleine, "Thanks Maddy, I can take it from here."<br>Madeleine nodded, smiled at the girls and left. The curly haired girl looked at them, evaluating them. Finally, she said, "I'm Amy Henderson, the sixth-year prefect. Come on, let's get breakfast."  
>"Finally," Spencer rolled her eyes.<p>

As the Slytherin first-years walked through the Entrance Hall and into the Great Hall, Dominique spotted her sister. She walked over to her.  
>"Oh Dom, I'm so sorry," Victoire said, pulling her sister into a hug. Some people stared curiously at them.<br>"It's okay," Dominique mumbled. "It's not that bad."  
>"Have you told Maman and Dad yet?" Victoire asked.<br>Dominique shook her head. "Can you imagine the look on Grandpa Weasley's face when he finds out?"  
>Victoire gave her a small smile and said, "I'm sure he'll understand. I'm actually looking forward to Uncle Ron's reaction."<br>Dominique's mouth formed an o-shape. "Of course, he detests all those in Slytherin...I hope he doesn't hate me."  
>"Never," Victoire said. "Look, we'd better get in there, it's always a mad rush when it comes to handing out timetables..."<br>"Right," Dominique said, recognising the dismissal. "Okay."  
>"Write to me if you need help or someone to talk to..." Victoire offered. "If not, then I'll see you around."<br>"Yeah, see you, Victoire," Dominique stared after her a little sadly.

"Dominique Weasley?" Amy called, holding up a sheet of paper.  
>Dominique, who had just walked into Great Hall, walked quickly. She realised that the sheet of paper that Amy was holding was her timetable. As she reached Amy, she heard whispers flutter about the Slytherin table.<br>"Weasley, did she say?"  
>"Is there a Weasley in our house?"<br>"There she is. That must be her."  
>"Why doesn't she have red hair? I heard all Weasleys had red hair?"<br>Dominique ignored them all, collected her timetable and sat down between Alexandra and a first-year boy whom she had not been introduced to yet.  
>"You know what, Dom? That's a pretty fair question," Alexandra said.<br>"What?" Dominique looked at her.  
>"You're a Weasley...why don't you have red hair?"<br>Dominique laughed, "My mother is blonde."  
>"But your hair...it glows! It's more than blonde...it's like silver...and very pretty," Alexandra said. She was very honest and a little tactless at time, for example, now.<br>"I'm part Veela, that's why," Dominique explained.  
>"Ahhh," everyone chorused as they finally understood.<br>"My great-grandmother," Dominique said as she saw Alexandra open her mouth to ask another question.  
>"Was that your sister you were talking to earlier?" the boy sitting next to her asked. Dominique nodded. "She's got the genes too," he commented observantly. She nodded again, and looked up suddenly as she heard a screech.<br>An owl had flown into the Great Hall - of course, Victoire had told her about this. There was a flutter of wings and soon the Hall was filled with owls delivering letters and dropping off parcels for their owners.

After breakfast, the Sytherin first-years headed back down to the dungeons for their first class of the year. Potions.  
>As the lined up against the wall next to the dungeon door, another group of students came down the stairs. They looked like first-years, were wearing the usual Hogwarts black school robes, but instead of a snake on their crest, they had something which represented a bird of some kind. Their ties, instead of the Sytherin green, were blue.<br>"Ravenclaw," one of the Slytherin boys muttered audibly.  
>The Ravenclaw first-years stood along the wall opposite the dungeon door and across from the Slytherins.<br>"Looks like we've got Potions with the Ravenclaws," the boy who had asked Dominique about her sister at breakfast stated obviously.  
>"At least we're not with Gryffindor or Hufflepuff," she heard a boy snigger to Alexandra, who gave him a small smile.<br>"Hi, I'm Dominique," Dominique introduced herself to him. The boy raised his eyes at Alexandra, who, despite smiling to him just a moment ago, refused to make eye contact with him. Dominique made a mental note to ask her friend why later.  
>"Ethan Parkinson," the boy put out his hand.<br>Dominique shook it, "Nice to meet you, Ethan."  
>"Please, the pleasure is all mine," the boy said.<br>"Coming through, coming through, you wouldn't mind moving, would you?" they heard a wheezy voice at the bottom of the stairs. He was ladened with a bag, cauldron and many Potion supplies. He unlocked the door, and said, "Come on in."  
>The Slytherins and Ravenclaws followed him in and sat down in their respective groups. Dominique sat down between the same people that she sat with at breakfast: Alexandra and the boy whose name she still didn't know.<p>

"I am Professor Slughorn and I am your Potions teacher," the man said from the front of the room. Dominique had heard Uncle Ron, Uncle Harry and Aunt Hermione talking about him, and from what she remembered, the man had favourites. "Today, we will be going through the basics of Potions, and discussing safety in the classroom as every week, there will be a different potion to brew."  
>A Ravenclaw girl put up her hand, and asked, "Please, Professor Slughorn, are we going to brew a potion today?"<br>"Er, no, we're not. As I just stated, we will be going over some rules today, Miss..." Professor Slughorn drifted off, as he did not know the girl's name.  
>"Beckett," the girl replied, but did not elaborate.<br>"Right, er, as I was telling Miss Beckett, we will not be concocting a potion today..." He looked around the room somewhat nervously.

Forty minutes later, Professor Slughorn had explained the basic classroom rules, which Dominique thought were pretty silly because it had a lot to do with common sense.  
>"Now, we've got ten minutes left, I'm going to split you up into groups of two. The person you are paired up with is going to be your uh...well, the Muggles call it a lab partner, er, they will be your Potions partner for the rest of term."<br>Everyone groaned, which made Professor Slughorn more eager to make this work. He knew that the students always stuck to their own friendship groups, which mostly consisted of their peers from their own house. He wanted to change that, that's why he was splitting his class up. This was the first year that he tried something different, and about time too, he thought. He had been brought back from retirement by his late friend, Albus Dumbledore, eighteen years ago and thought that his time as the Potions Master and the Head of Slytherin house was almost up. He wanted to make a difference before he left.

Dominique was paired up with a Ravenclaw boy who had scruffy brown hair.  
>"Hi, I'm Callum," he introduced himself in a friendly manner.<br>"Dominique," Dominique replied. "But you can call me Dom."  
>They made some small talk - asking each other about how they were finding Hogwarts, if they had family, and what their blood statuses were - before the bell rang for their morning break.<br>Alexandra motioned for Dominique to walk with her, but Dominique shook her head and decided to walk with Callum back to the Great gave her a small, confused look. Dominique didn't know what she was doing, all she knew was that she was glad she had made a friend who wasn't in Sytherin, and she enjoyed spending time with him, getting to know him.  
>Callum noticed that Dominique was still by his side as they left the Potions dungeon.<br>"Aren't you going to go hang with your friends?" he asked, a little surprised.  
>"Actually, I was hoping I could maybe hang with you for a bit...if you don't mind," Dominique said.<br>"Uh...sure, that's fine by me," Callum smiled.  
>When they reached the Great Hall, neither wanted to go in and sit in their respective houses, so they just stood in the Entrance Hall talking animatedly about Quidditch.<br>"My mother and my sister aren't big fans of Quidditch at all," Dominique explained. "But my father, brother and I are fanatics! Actually, I was hoping to maybe try out for a position on the Quidditch team this year," she admitted a little shyly. She hadn't told anyone that before.  
>"That would be so awesome!" Callum replied back enthusiastically. "What position would you try out for?"<br>"Oh, Seeker, definitely," Dominique laughed. "My Uncle Harry says I've got a good eye for seeing things. How about you? What is your interest in Quidditch?"  
>"Well, as my father is a Muggle, all he cares about is Muggle sports...and my mother, she doesn't like playing Quidditch, but she really likes to watch it, so my sister and I basically grew up watching Quidditch," Callum grinned.<br>"Which team do you support?" Dominique asked.  
>"Tutshill Tornadoes," Callum said proudly. "Premiers of last year's National Tournament. You?"<br>"Holyhead Harpies, for sure," Dominique said. "Actually, my Aunt Ginny played for them a while ago..."  
>"Is there anything that your family hasn't done?" Callum asked, laughing.<br>"Probably not," Dominique replied  
>"We should grab some fruit, there's only five minutes left of morning break, and I don't know about you but I really don't want to be late for my next class," Callum said.<br>"No, you're right. Let's go," Dominique led the way into the Great Hall. "What do you have next anyway?"  
>"History of Magic," Callum replied. Dominique grinned, she had heard all about that class from her family. "What?" Callum asked her.<br>"Good luck keeping awake," she said. "I have Herbology."  
>"Have fun," Callum said. He walked over to his friends who were sitting at the Ravenclaw table. Dominique went to her friends at the Slytherin table.<p>

"What was that?" Alexandra asked as soon as Dominique sat down.  
>"What was what?" Dominique took a bite from an apple.<br>"You chose to walk and talk with that Ravenclaw boy instead of coming with us," Alexandra pointed out, as if it were very obvious.  
>"So?"<br>"So, we Slytherins have to stick together. it's one of our traits!" Alexandra said. "You can't just walk off with someone from another house."  
>"Well, I'm sorry I don't know the Slytherin way," Dominique replied, a little flustered. "I grew up from a family full of Gryffindors, and I'm sorry for wanting to make friends on my first day at school. Also, if this is the Slytherin way, I'm not sure I like it and I think some changes are most definitely needed."<br>Alexandra looked taken aback, but only for a moment. She then proceeded cooly, "Well, if that's what you think. You've got lots to learn, Weasley."  
>Dominique looked at her friend, "So do you, Malfoy."<p>

Herbology passed quite quickly and in the same manner as Potions did. Professor Longbottom went through all the classroom rules, and warned them that if they didn't listen to him, he would kick them out of the classroom without a moment's hesitation. A few people had sniggered, but Dominique knew that he was serious.  
>After Herbology, the Slytherins made their way up many flights of stairs to Defence Against the Dark Arts. The classroom was empty when they walked in, but they were soon joined by the Gryffindors. Naturally, the Slytherins ignored the other house. There was still an unspoken rivalry between them, despite the many attempts to change that.<br>However, Dominique looked up when she heard her name being whispered. She looked across the room to Alexandra, who gave her a small shrug. They weren't sitting together as a result of their little fallout during morning break.  
>"What an embarrassment," she heard one of the Gryffindor girls say.<br>"A Weasley in Slytherin," another boy scoffed.  
>"What's it like being related to a blood traitor*?" the boy sitting next to him directed his question at Roxanne.<br>Dominique looked at her cousin, expecting her to stand up for her...but the words that came out of Roxanne's mouth surprised not only her, but everyone else in the room.  
>"She is no relative of mine," Roxanne said coldly.<p>

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><p><em><strong>AN:**_ _Blood Traitor*: Back in Harry's day, the Weasleys were called blood-traitors because of their affiliation with Muggles, but things have changed since then. The reforms at the Ministry (passed by Harry, Ron and Hermione) made being half-blood and Muggleborn look "cool" because being a pure-blood normally meant that incest had taken place to keep that bloodline going, and that was not the social norm anymore. Dominique is now being called a 'blood-traitor' because she is in the company of Slytherins, widely known as the 'pure-blood' house._

_So what do you think of Alexandra and Dominique's argument? Was Alex right to yell at Dom like that? And do you think that Dom will revolutionise Slytheirn for the better? Also, what did you all think of Roxanne's reply? Leave a comment/review telling me what you think. :) x_


	3. Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

_**A/N: **I hope this chapter answers some of your questions about the last chapter. Happy reading! x_  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> Queen Rowling rules over this world. :)

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back<strong>

_'Chèr (Dear) Maman et (and) Daddy,  
>You know that I have been looking forward to going to Hogwarts ever since Victoire got her letter. I enjoyed the stories of Daddy's time here, and the recounts of your visit, Maman, but I don't have very good news to report for myself. Hogwarts hasn't been particularly kind to me this last week, that is to say, my first week has been absolutely horrible. People talk about me and gossip about me, everywhere I go. Victoire makes sure that our conversations are end quickly, Teddy minds his own business, I haven't even seen Fred, and Roxanne tried to apologise for what she said, though always privately. She still continues to put me down in front of her friends, so I have not yet forgiven her. Je ne comprends pas (I don't understand), I didn't ask to be put in Slytherin. I just want it all to stop because I want to have a good time here. In saying that, I do have a few friends that I can depend on...but it would be nice to have the support of ma famille (my family). Je suis desolée (I am sorry) for bothering you, Maman and Daddy. J'espére que vous êtes bien (I hope that you are well). Send my love to Louis. Vous me manquez (I miss you).<br>Gros bisous (Big kisses), Dominique.'_

A week had passed since Dominique had sent that letter out to her parents, and she was very worried that they either hadn't received yet, or had already received it and were now refusing to speak to her.  
>"I'm sure there'll be an explanation," Alexandra said kindly. She had been very supportive ever since Roxanne had lashed out. Dominique was grateful that she had Alexandra. Nathan Everton (the boy who had asked Dominique about her sister, and the brother of their fifth-year prefect, Lucas) nodded. They were sitting in the Slytherin common room, some finishing up a Potions essay due the following morning, others practicing Switching spells for Transfiguration.<br>"You know what you need, Dom?" Cassidy, one of her fellow Slytherin first-years, said out-of-the-blue.  
>"What's that, Cass?" Dominique asked, a little miserably.<br>"A distraction," Cassidy replied.  
>"That's not a half bad idea," Nathan said.<br>"Sorry to burst your little bubbles, but what are we going to distract her with?" Ethan asked. Everyone turned to look at him.  
>"Well, what are you passionate about, Dom?" Alexandra asked.<br>Dominique thought for a while before replying, "Quidditch."  
>"Aren't try outs happening sometime soon?" Nathan asked. He stood up and walked to the noticeboard to check. "Yep, this weekend."<br>"Aren't you meant to be training so you can make the team?" Ethan asked. Everyone ignored him. Dominique really wanted to tell them all that she was confident and that she didn't need to train because she was practically brought up on a broom, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not because she thought it would sound incredibly arrogant, but because she didn't think she'd make the team based on her skill. She thought that the elitist Slytherins would have a problem with her because she was a Weasley.  
>"I think I'll go to bed," Dominique stood up and walked towards the girls' dormitory before anyone could stop her.<p>

When she reached the dormitory, she sat down on her bed, with no intentions of sleeping. She reflected on her time at Hogwarts, and how people were treating her. Her family had always told her that the Slytherins were bad people, even Hagrid, a close friend of the family, had told her that "there's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin" in the Dark times. But they were so nice to her! Maybe they really had all changed after all, she thought to herself. She had, of course, heard the stories firsthand of how the Malfoys were a part of Voldemort's Inner Circle, and though the Parkinsons were never proved to be part of that Dark alliance, they paraded around the school and Ministry, flaunting their purebloodness in everyone's faces. She had also listened very intently to the arguments that Uncles Harry and Ron had about Draco Malfoy changing for the greater good. Uncle Ron didn't believe it, but Uncle Harry did. Dominique changed into her pajamas. Yes, she believed that the Slytherins had changed, for she was one of them, and she had seen firsthand how kind they were...to her. After all, Slytherins were known to stick together, Alex had said it as one of their traits...Dominique fell asleep with this thought in her head.

While Dominique had had a lovely sleep, the other Slytherin first-years had been awake half the night. Dominique didn't enquire, but this was evident by their constant yawns and bags under their eyes.  
>"Terrible sleep?" Dominique nudged Spencer amusedly at the Slytherin table during breakfast. Dominique had hoped that they had all forgotten the conversation from last night.<br>"More like not enough sleep," Spender replied grumpily. Dominique laughed.  
>She watched as the owls swept into the Great Hall from the rafters, but didn't spot her family owl. Sighing, she went back to her breakfast.<p>

In Potions, she sat with Callum, the boy she had been partnered up with from the first lesson. She got on with her work quietly and efficiently. He noticed that something was up, but didn't pry. If she wanted to tell him, then she would, if she didn't, it wasn't his problem.  
>"Callum? I've just had a thought," Dominique said after copying the properties of moonstone off the blackboard.<br>"Hm?" he looked up from his own work.  
>"Is your sister's name Maddy?"<br>Callum was surprised, but replied good-maturely, "Yeah. Maddy Nicholson. How'd you find out?"  
>Dominique gave him a small smile. "You have the same nose."<br>Callum touched his own nose and then shrugged, "I guess we do."  
>"She's been keeping an eye on me, you know," Dominique said casually. Dominique had noticed that their fifth-year prefect hovered over the first-years every night before heading over to her own friendship circle.<br>Callum avoided her eye when he answered her, "Oh really?"  
>"Oh come on, Cal, I know you asked her to," Dominique pat his arm. "You didn't have to."<br>"I wanted to, you've had a rough week," Callum shrugged.  
>"Well...thank you. You're a good friend," Dominique smiled at him, before frowning. "More than I can say about my parents."<br>Callum took this as an invitation to pursue the subject. "Why? What did they do?"  
>Dominique told him her suspicions that they were ignoring her because she had been Sorted into Slytherin, and that she was a disappointment to the family. Callum frowned a little before replying.<br>"Mail gets lost or intercepted all the time. Maybe they haven't received your letter yet. You shouldn't worry, Dom."  
>Dominique sighed, "I know. I just can't help but wonder...you know?"<br>"I know," Callum said, sympathetically.  
>"Thank wizard god it's Friday," Dominique muttered as she copied down the method of the Forgetfulness Potion from the board.<p>

The Slytherin Quidditch team try outs were on the next day, and Dominique couldn't wait to get out on her Firebolt. Even though she had flown during their flying lessons, it wasn't the same. There was no adrenaline rush as she searched the grounds for the Golden Snitch, no crowd cheering her on. Yes, she couldn't wait to prove herself. This determination clouded over her worries about being excluded because of her name, and for the first time during her time at Hogwarts, Dominique really concentrated on something that she wanted. She went to bed early on Friday night, partly to avoid her very persistent friends, and to get a good night's rest.

Dominique awoke very early on Saturday morning. She checked her watch, five in the morning...she doubted the sun had even risen. Nevertheless, she got out of bed, put on her robes and headed out to the Quidditch Pitch with her Firebolt in hand. It was eerily silent, but Dominique didn't mind. She loved the roar of the crowd, but sometimes, she loved being alone, and this was just one of those times. She kicked off hard from the ground and heard the wind whistling in her ear. She smiled contentedly as she swerved around the goal posts and did loops around the pitch. Once the sun had risen, she headed to the Great Hall for some breakfast.

"Where have you been?" Nathan asked her when she sat down next to him, a big smile on her face.  
>"Quidditch Pitch," Dominique answered shortly before buttering a piece of toast with some butter.<br>"Oh, of course, tryouts are today. Best of luck, Dom!" Cass called from across the table. Dominique smiled at her.  
>"I'm trying out too," Nathan told her.<br>Dominique narrowed her eyes. "Which position?" she asked. She was a very competitive person, and friend or not, if he was trying out for the same position as she, then she was sure to fight to the finish.  
>Nathan chuckled, "Chaser. You?"<br>"Good," Dominique wiped her mouth with a serviette. "I want the Seeker position."  
>Ethan whistled, "That's ambitious."<br>"Why?" Alexandra rounded on him. "Ignore him, Dom. We'll support both you and Nate all the way."  
>"Thanks," Dominique said appreciatively. She stood up. "Time to go."<br>Nathan followed her out of the Great Hall.

There were five people trying out for Seeker against Dominique. The first and second people lost the Snitch and had to be called in after searching for half an hour each.. The third person caught it after searching for at least twenty minutes. The fourth person was knocked out by a Bludger. The fifth person caught it in fifteen minutes, but managed to knock the Keeper off his broom. It was now Dominique's turn to show them what she was worth.  
>She heard a whistle and saw the little golden ball flutter out of the Captain's hand. She kicked off hard, and began scanning the sky. She dodged Chasers and hurdled over the passing of the Quaffle, before spotting a glint of gold on the other side of the pitch. She accelerated and within seconds, she had the little ball wrapped in her right hand.<br>"Yes!" she punched the air. That had to be ten minutes, maximum. Uncle Harry would have been proud. She landed next to the Captain and handed him the Snitch.  
>"Excellent flying," he told her. He directed her over to where all the other hopefuls were standing. The girl who was knocked out by the Bludger still looked a little dazed.<p>

When the Chaser try outs were over, the Slytherin team members huddled to discuss who would make the team. Lucas Everton, who played as Keeper, winked at his brother and Dominique, who were standing together. The Captain, Travis Goyle, nodded at his team and then went to stand in front of the crowd. He cleared his throat.  
>"This is by far the best turn out I've ever seen to a try out," he said loudly. "But as you know, we are only looking for two people to join Lucas, Amy, Jane, Declan and myself on the team. A Chaser and a Seeker, and though there were some brilliant performances today, two definitely stood out."<br>He stepped forward to shake Nathan's hand. Nathan looked shocked, but very happy.  
>"Well done, kid," Travis said. "Introduce yourself?"<br>However, Lucas stepped in proudly, "My little brother everyone, Nathan. We are definitely keeping the tradition of Quidditch in this family."  
>Everyone clapped, Dominique cheered for her friend.<br>"And there was a unanimous decision as to who will be the new Slytherin Seeker," Travis pointed to Dominique. Her mouth fell open. She could hardly believe it. What would happen when they found out who she was?  
>"Um thank you," she muttered meekly.<br>"What's your name?" Travis asked kindly. She had heard that the Goyles had a bad reputation, but Travis didn't seem so bad. Then again, he didn't know who she was.  
>"Dominique...Weasley," she said in a small voice.<br>"Weasley?" she heard the crowd gasp. Travis had gone pale.  
>"Excuse me," he hurried back to his team.<p>

"She has skill!" the boy named Declan Bulstrode said loudly. He was one of the Beaters on to team.  
>"But she's a Weasley!" Travis said in a carrying whisper. "We've a reputation to uphold!"<br>"Well, what are we going to do? We can't kick her out of her own house!" Amy Henderson, the sixth-year prefect and a Chaser on the team, said angrily.  
>Dominique sat on a bench, listening to them rambling on about her fate on the team. She was just about to stand up to tell Travis that if her consideration for the team was causing them so much trouble, she would just back out and they could give the position to somebody else, when the team huddle broke apart. Travis, followed closely by Lucas and Amy, walked over to her.<br>"Congrats, Weasley, you've made the team," he stuck out his hand for her to shake. She shook it gratefully. "Play like you did today, and we've got the Quidditch Cup in the bag. Practice starts on Wednesday," he told her. She nodded to show she understood. Before turning to leave, he added, "Prove to us why we chose you." He turned on his heel and marched off into the castle.  
>"Well done, Dom," Amy smiled at her. "Travis is still a little prejudiced against um...Weasleys. His father didn't get along well with one of them, you know, but Travis has always been more open-minded than his father, so give him some time."<br>"This should be an interesting year for Quidditch," Lucas grinned widely. "Come on," he flung his arm over Nathan's shoulder. "I'm hungry. Let's go eat."  
>Dominique followed the two brothers to the Great Hall feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off her. This was a huge step forward for her - her team accepted her for her skill, and though at first they did, they didn't really care that she came from the Weasley family. Yes, this was definitely a step forward for her.<p>

"Dom!" Tessa Lovett almost crashed into the table as she hurried to Dominique's side. Following Tessa was Cassidy, who looked excited, and Alexandra, who looked grim.  
>"Yes, Tess?" Dominique turned to face her fellow-Slytherin.<br>"Someone from the Ravenclaw house thought of something so brilliant - an inter-house unity club!" Tessa said. Cassidy nodded, Alexandra groaned.  
>"Uh...that sounds great, Tess," Dominique said slowly. She looked over to Alexandra. "What's the catch?"<br>Tessa paused for a brief moment. "You could so join! You know, a Weasley in Slytherin...that could help bring all the other houses and Slytherin together."  
>"Oh no, I couldn't, Tess. They all hate me!" Dominique cried. "Especially the Gryffindors." She had lowered her voice to a whisper, but it still carried. Some Gryffindors who were walking by their table sniggered.<br>"We'd hex you if there weren't teachers around," one of them said. The other two laughed nastily.  
>"Shut it," Alexandra growled.<br>"Alex, don't push them," Dominique glared at their retreating backs.  
>"I told you this was a bad idea, Tess," Alexandra said. "Now Dom's back to square one."<br>"But we could try...your cousin could help us!" Tessa pushed.  
>"I'm really sorry, Tessa. I'm with Alex on this one, it's not going to work. My cousin publicly humiliates me, I don't want to be a part of that. You'll have to find someone else to help you," Dominique told Tessa. "I'm really sorry."<br>She walked away, leaving Tessa and Cassidy staring after her.

The rest of the weekend was dedicated to homework, and by Sunday night, Dominique was exhausted. She had finished all her essays, mastered the Switching Spell, and practiced the Shield Charm. She was curled up on an armchair, talking to Alexandra and Spencer about their Herbology homework, when she was interrupted by Madeleine.  
>"Dom? A letter has just come for you," Madeleine said holding out a fat envelope for Dominique to take.<br>"Thanks, Maddy. I wonder why it showed up this late?" Dominique looked inquisitively at the older girl.  
>Madeleine shrugged, "All I know is that an owl tried to get in but it was taken to Professor Slughorn and he called me to take this you."<br>"Well thank you," Dominique smiled at Madeleine. Madeleine smiled back before heading to the portrait hole.

"What is it?" Spencer asked. Dominique had taken a look at the front of the letter when Madeleine left and stood there staring at it.  
>"It's from my parents..." Dominique said slowly.<br>"Open it," Alexandra encouraged her. "You've been waiting forever to find out."  
>Dominique flipped the envelope over onto its back. Her eyes widened.<br>"What is it now?" Spender asked.  
>"It's not just from my parents. There are letters from my whole family in here," Dominique said quietly.<p>

She opened the envelope and took out the first piece of parchment. She canned through and then sighed with relief.  
>"My parents are alright with this," Dominique began smiling. "They're okay with it! And they said that it took so long to get back to me was because all my aunts and uncles wanted to write to me too." She looked at her friends with tears in her eyes.<br>"I told you there was an explanation," Alexandra smiled at her. "Do you mind if...?" She gestured to the unopened pieces of parchment in the envelope.  
>"Go ahead," Dominique said, still smiling brightly.<br>Alexandra and Spencer opened up each envelope and read out little snippets from Dominique's family  
>"Uncle Harry says he's extremely proud of his little Seeker," Spencer said. Dominique smiled, she knew that Uncle Harry would accept her no matter what. It was he, after all, who bought her the Firebolt and introduced her to Quidditch.<br>"Uncle George and Aunt Angelina say that things happen for a reason...and they apologise for Roxanne's behaviour," Alexandra read and then scoffed at the last bit. "Yeah right."  
>"Uncle Ron says he's both disappointed and surprised that a Weasley could ever be Sorted into Slytherin..." Dominique said. The other two looked at her wearily. "But he says he'll accept it and he won't disown me." Dominique began to laugh. "Thank goodness for that!"<br>As she collected the parchment that her family had written their words of approval on, she couldn't help but think that maybe things were taking a turn for the better. Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**_ _You may be wondering why first-years are trying out for the house Quidditch teams...well, just assume that after Harry got onto the team in his first-year, Dumbledore scrapped that rule. I mean, Draco Malfoy practically smuggled a broom in anyway. :) x_

_Do you think everything will be okay for Dominique? Next chapter, we see her in a family environment._


	4. Family Matters

_**A/N: **G'day! Finally a new chapter - I said to myself at the beginning of this story that I would write ahead so that I could post regularly, but as always, I didn't listen to myself. So, from now on, I'm giving myself a ONE WEEK deadline - which means you should expect a chapter posted every week - unless something comes up, and I can't post/write. Um, this is a pretty long chapter, but I hope it covers more ground. Let me know what you think? :) x_

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter belongs to the brilliant Jo Rowling. :)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four: Family Matters<strong>

Travis trained them every day leading to the big Quidditch match against Gryffindor. Dominique was now accustomed to waking up at 6am, doing some exercise at half six, and training with the team for an hour every morning before she headed to breakfast with her friends. She then had a full day of classes, and after an hour of homework (for keeping up with your education was very important), Travis got the team out onto the Pitch again to train. When he couldn't book the Pitch because one of the other houses had booked it, he took them to the grassed area behind the Herbology Greenhouses, somewhere his father used to go during his time at Hogwarts. They went back into the castle at six for dinner and then headed to the Common Room or the Library straight after to finish off some homework before trying to have an early night. So far, the earliest Dominique had gotten into bed was 11pm. That ensured at least a seven hour sleep...but once in bed, it didn't necessarily mean that she would sleep straightaway. No wonder she fell asleep in her classes.

"Dom, Dom, wake up!" Nathan nudged her elbow. Dominique stirred. They were in History of Magic with the Hufflepuffs, and Professor Binns, the only teacher at Hogwarts who was a ghost, had been droning on about the Middle Ages Goblin Rebellion. His monotonous voice and the slight buzzing of conversation in the classroom had sent Dominique off into a quick doze.  
>"What?" she yawned unintentionally loudly. Professor Binns paused and stared at her before continuing to drone on.<br>"Professor Slughorn wants to see us," Nathan told her.  
>"Why?" Dominique rubbed her eyes.<br>"I don't know," Nathan shrugged. He held out a piece of parchment for Dominique to have a look at it. She read it, and her eyes narrowed.  
>"It says to go see him after class," she said to Nathan, a little annoyed. "You couldn't have waited until after class to tell me? I was having such a nice sleep!"<br>Nathan laughed. "Bell's about to ring. I did you a favour."  
>Dominique scowled at him, and put her head in her arms. No sooner had she done that, the bell rang through the castle. She glared up at Nathan.<br>"Hate to say I told you so," he chuckled. "Come on, sleepyhead. Let's go see what Slughorn wants."

"I believe your mother was the Triwizard champion for Beauxbatons a while ago?" Professor Slughorn peered at Dominique through his spectacles.  
>"Uh...yes sir," Dominique said.<br>"And your sister is Victoire Weasley from Gryffindor?" Professor Slughorn pressed.  
>"Yes," Dominique gave Nathan a skeptical look.<br>"Very good," Professor Slughorn gave her another sweeping look. "She's in the Club too, so it's only fitting that I have the set."  
>"What Club?" Nathan spoke up.<br>"Ahh, Everton, you are Lucas's brother, are you not?" Professor Slughorn deliberately avoided Nathan's question.  
>"Yeah, I am," Nathan replied.<br>"An excellent Keeper he is," Professor Slughorn said fondly. "Slytherin haven't once lost a Quidditch match with him on the team..."  
>He drifted off, reminiscing.<br>Dominique gave a small cough, "What Club are you talking about, Professor Slughorn?"  
>"Ahh, my exclusive club, Miss Weasley," Professor Slughorn said. "Look out for an invitation to dinner on Friday night."<br>He turned away to shuffle some papers on his desk.  
>"Um, Professor?" Nathan spoke up.<br>"Yes?"  
>"Dom and I can't come to the dinner on Friday," Nathan told him. "The first game of the year is on Saturday, and Travis will definitely not let us go."<br>"Which means we're going to have to pass," Dominique added.  
>"Oh no, that's unfortunate," the professor frowned. "Next time…"<p>

As the upcoming Gryffindor vs Slytherin match loomed, tensions between the two houses, which were already high, became much worse. The Gryffindors, who for some reason were holding a grudge against the Slytherins for having a Weasley in their house, weren't afraid to be aggressive in front of the teachers. Dominique supposed that this was because of their 'stupid bravery', as Alexandra had put it. The Slytherins, though sleek as their animal: the serpent, never retaliated in front of a crowd. They planned revenge, and executed it in the most cunning fashion. The Gryffindors who caused the most trouble, usually fourth-years, found items that they cherished - say a favourite book, a quill, Gobstones, chocolate frog cards, and in the most extreme case, a broom - went missing. Dominique found most of them to be quite hot-headed, and once they lost something that was dear to them, they tended to blame their own friends - who, she noticed, seemed to have the object last. The Gryffindors were so caught up that they didn't notice a group of Slytherins nearby, with a bunch of random objects, laughing as they watched the fighting ensue. This only stopped when the Head Boy, a Gryffindor himself, threatened to go to Professor McGonagall about it. The Slytherins don't respond well to threats, but thought to best let this one go, as Professor McGonagall too was in Gryffindor. They would get the Gryffindors back when they least expect it.

As Nathan had predicted, on Friday night, Travis sent them all up to bed straight after dinner. The next morning, they were the first faces in the Great Hall, along with the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, who, by the looks of it, were ordered to go to bed early the night before too. Naturally, the two teams ignored each other.  
>"Are you nervous?" Amy asked Dominique, who shook her head.<br>"They've been bullying me for too long, I can't wait to get out there and kick their butts!" Dominique said determinedly.  
>Travis made a funny face at her. Dominique didn't make much of it until after breakfast, when they were heading out to the change rooms, Travis had made an attempt to smile at her! She found this quite humorous, as it looked quite pained. However, as he usually scowled at her, this was a big improvement. After changing into their green Quidditch robes, Travis stood up for a quick pep talk before they had to be called out onto the pitch.<br>"Let's start the season with a win," he said, looking at each team member. His eyes landed on Dominique. "Weasley, catch the Snitch as soon as you see it. I don't want too many Gryffindor members to be knocked out by the Slytherin team, it'd get too suspicious." He smirked at them.

"And they're off! And it's Gryffindor in possession – Captain Sofia Thomas, passes swiftly over the top of first-time Slytherin Chaser Nathan Everton, to Caleb Robins who heads straight for the goal. No, no, wait a moment, he passes back to Thomas, who wasn't expecting it, but catches it anyway! Oh, this girl has skill!" Dominique looked towards the stands. Michaela Jordan, the daughter of one of Uncle George's friends (Dominique remembered that his name was Lee), was commentating. It seemed that she had learned her father's commentary skills and had taken up the role for herself, and she was doing a great job at it. The crowd booed and cheered as she made observations of the match.  
>"Oi, Dom, get a move on!" Amy yelled as she flew past her. Dominique pulled herself out of her temporary mid-air pause, and scanned the grounds for the Snitch, thinking to herself that this was a piece of cake.<br>"Thomas speeds towards the Slytherin goals, aims and –" the Slytherin crowd cheered. "A good save by Slytherin Keeper, Lucas Everton. He passes to Everton, who passes to Captain Travis Goyle, and they're off speeding towards the Gryffindor goals. Goyle passes to Henderson, but –"  
>"Ooooooh!" the Gryffindor crowd chorused.<br>"The Quaffle is intercepted by Gryffindor Chaser, Priscilla O'Brien. O'Brien was a new find for Thomas, this year, so this is her first game. Watch out Priscilla!"  
>Declan Bulstrode, the Slytherin Beater who had stood up for Dominique at the tryouts, had hit a Bludger Priscilla's way. She managed to swerve just in time, but dropped the Quaffle straight into the arms of Travis. The crowd roared in anticipation. Not a single point had been scored yet. Dominique was searching the skies, but found herself getting distracted by the crowd. She spotted Alexandra in the Slytherin crowd, sitting with Cass, Tess and Spencer. Callum waved to her amongst the Ravenclaws. She found Roxanne sitting with the Gryffindors. She couldn't find her sister though.<br>'Typical Victoire,' Dominique thought darkly to herself. 'Off making out with Teddy while you should be watching your sister play a game of Quidditch.'  
>Dominique was pulled out of her reverie when Jane sent a Bludger her way.<br>"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Jane yelled angrily at Dominique as Dominique flew over to her to find out what was going on.  
>"Looking for the Snitch," Dominique fired back.<br>"Well, act like it, or better yet, DO IT!"  
>Dominique made a face at Jane's back, which she knew was quite immature, but she didn't care. She didn't need to be told by a Beater how to do her job.<br>Michaela gasped, "Oh my, is that Holmes diving?" The crowd held its breath.  
>"WEASLEY!" Travis bellowed.<br>Dominique didn't need telling twice, she pointed her broom in the right direction and streaked after Zeke Holmes, the Gryffindor Seeker. Halfway through the dive, she caught up to Zeke, and smiled to herself.  
>'Oh, the perks of having a Firebolt,' she thought to herself. Zeke was riding a Comet Three Hundred, and though it was quick, it was still only travelling at half the speed of a Firebolt. Dominique easily pulled ahead, spotted the Golden Snitch, and reached out her hand. She pulled out of her dive near the Gryffindor goals, holding the Snitch tightly in her hand.<br>"Yes!" she pumped her fist in the air.  
>"And that, ladies and gentleman, is how you catch a Snitch in style. Dominique Weasley of Slytherin, everyone!" Michaela said loudly. "SLYTHERIN WINS! 150-0!"<p>

After every match, it is common courtesy to shake hands with the opposing team and to reassure them that it was a 'good game'. The Gryffindors looked crestfallen, while the Slytherins were overjoyed. They shook hands, though only briefly, and even then it was not a proper shake, more like a crush of the hand. When Dominique faced her cousin, Fred II, who was the Gryffindor Beater, she didn't know what to think. She had not seen him since the Welcoming Feast, and he had made no effort to see how she was. They stood there facing each other for some time before Dominique stuck out her hand for him to shake.  
>"Oh, come here, you," Fred pulled her into a hug.<br>Dominique looked up at her older cousin and gave him a small smile.  
>"I don't care that you're in Slytherin, and I don't care if we're meant to be enemies," Fred told her quietly. "You're still my beloved cousin and you're still a damn good Quidditch player. I am so proud of you."<br>Dominique tried to explain to Fred how much these words meant to her, but she couldn't. In the end, she opted for another hug.  
>"Go on, go celebrate," Fred pushed her away gently. "You deserve it."<p>

While the Slytherins were busy celebrating their first win of the year, Travis had pulled Dominique aside.  
>"That's never going to happen again, do you understand me, Weasley?" he said seriously.<br>"What?" Dominique played the innocent card. She knew that she was going to be told off for her attitude. "I caught the Snitch, didn't I? We won?"  
>"Yes, but it was too close," Travis furrowed his brow. "You're lucky to have such a good broom, or else Holmes would have gotten the Snitch. He did see it first."<br>Dominique bit on her lip, tempted to ask Travis, 'So what?', but refrained from doing so, because he looked livid.  
>"Never again, Weasley. You need to concentrate, goddamn it! We totally had it in the bag from the beginning and you dawdled. You've got to pull yourself together."<br>"And who are you to tell me what to do?" Dominique snapped.  
>Travis raised his voice, "I happen to be the captain of the team, which means I am your boss."<br>"Nobody is the boss of me," Dominique stamped her foot and stormed out of the common room.  
>"Watch yourself, Weasley!" Travis yelled after her. "Or you'll find yourself off the team."<br>Dominique rolled her eyes.

The winter break couldn't come fast enough, and after a couple weeks putting up with Travis's constant reminders to concentrate, Dominique was glad to be in the comforts of her family home. Victoire locked herself in her room, only coming down for meals. Louis, who Dominique had always gotten along with, followed his older sister around, asking her questions about her life at Hogwarts, and telling her about life at Shell Cottage.  
>"It's very quiet here without you or Victoire," Louis said to Dominique on her first day back. She was curled up on her bed, and had just opened up a book when Louis came in.<br>"What do you end up doing?" Dominique asked him, wrapping her blanket around him too, so they were huddled together.  
>"I help Maman, and I play with all my toys," Louis said. "And sometimes, I visit Grandma and Grandpa Weasley, and on the weekend, Dad takes me to Quidditch games."<br>"Oh, I miss those," Dominique sighed, looking at her younger brother. "Tell me about them."  
>That seemed to put Louis in a very happy mood, as he launched into a story of how the Chudley Cannons lost a game twice in a row, both in which they scored not a single point.<p>

Christmas at the Burrow was always an eventful affair. The Weasley men would drink too much Firewhiskey, to which their wives would scold them. The Weasley women would sit around swapping stories of their time at Hogwarts, and the Weasley children would all gossip about who was dating who. Grandma Weasley would play Celestina Warbeck on the Wizarding Wireless Network, which made Fleur leave the room. Eggnog was passed around and presents swapped eagerly. This year would be no different, yet Dominique was not as excited as she had previously been. She thought that this may be because of her nerves at facing her family after being Sorted into the rival house, even though they had all reassured her that they did not have a problem with her.

The room instantly went quiet, a difficult feat what with so many people, as Dominique walked in. She paused, looking first at her younger cousins, then at Uncle Percy, who was sitting at the head of the tale with Grandpa Weasley. He shrugged at her, turned to his father and continued the conversation as if nothing had happened, for which Dominique was grateful. She didn't like being stared at. Everyone returned to their business, and soon the Burrow was as lively as ever.  
>"Hi Dom," James Potter gave his cousin a hug.<br>"Hi James, how are you?" Dominique asked him. She and James got on well because of their love of Quidditch. They had also grown very close because of her bond with Harry. Dominique supposed Harry had spoken to James about her being in Slytherin too, because he didn't mention it.  
>"Good! How are you?" however, before letting her answer, James moved on, "Did you hear how the Chudley Cannons -"<br>"Lost two games in a row without scoring any points?" Dominique laughed, and nodded.  
>James pouted, "Alright, who told? I wanted to tell that story!"<br>"Louis did," Dominique pointed to her younger brother.  
>"Did I hear Chudley Cannons?" Uncle Ron came over. "My favourite team, you know!" he told them proudly.<br>James laughed at him before going to join Fred for some more Quidditch talk, leaving Dominique alone with her uncle. To say the silence was awkward was an understatement. Thankfully, Aunt Hermione came to the rescue.  
>"Ronald, what are you doing? Just because she's in Slytherin does not mean you can pick a fight with her. Oh, and dear, keep an eye on your own children! They're running amok again."<br>Ron grumbled before slouching to the other side of the room to battle his daughter, Rose, in a game of wizard's chess.  
>"Don't mind him, Dominique," Aunt Hermione said kindly. "A House does not define who you are."<br>"I know," Dominique replied. "Thank you." Hermione smiled at her niece.  
>"Dinner's ready!" Molly called. Everyone hurried to the dining table.<p>

"I don't know how the Minister will cover this one up -"  
>"- a Muggle fire was said to have caused it."<br>"Did you hear about that talented witch who won -"  
>"- the most beautiful dress. I would die for that dress!"<br>"And I'm only in sixth year, but they act like it's NEWT year for -"  
>"- Lorcan Scamander and Flora Longbottom -"<br>"Bill, you really need to cut your hair."  
>"No, mum! Fleur likes it like this, don't you, hun?"<br>"Lies! Flora is my best friend!"  
>"Chudley Cannons lost twice in a row -"<br>"- all you care about is Quidditch, James!"  
>"Ouch, Fred, that hurt!"<br>"Albus, behave -"  
>"Hugo and I are going to the Muggle cinema -"<br>"Ginny, do something!"  
>"Wow! Uncle George, do that trick again!"<br>Dominique didn't realise it, but she really missed the craziness of her family. She grinned like an idiot as she heard all the snippets of conversation. She was so immersed in her own bubble that she must have missed a question. She only realised when conversation died once again, and everyone turned to look at her expectantly.  
>"Um, sorry, what was that?" she said, a pink tinge appearing on her cheeks.<br>"I asked if you've made any friends in your House," Uncle Charlie repeated himself.  
>"Um, yeah, I guess. She's uh...actually...a Malfoy," Dominique admitted quietly. Ron, who had a mouth full of Butterbeer at the time, spat it out all over Ginny, who was sitting next to him. Ginny looked at her brother disgustedly and grabbed the nearest serviette.<br>"You're friends with a Malfoy?" he continued to splutter.  
>"She's actually a really nice person, I think the Malfoys have changed," Dominique defended her friend. She saw that Uncle Ron was about to say something, but caught Aunt Hermione's stare and decided against it.<br>"Whatever helps you sleep at night," he shrugged at her.  
>"Ron! You can't say that to your niece!" Ginny threw the wet serviette at him.<br>"So Dominique, all that Seeker training paying off?" Harry asked proudly.  
>"Absolutely! I can't thank you enough, Uncle Harry," Dominique said, glad that there was a change in subject.<p>

"Molly and Lucy Weasley, get down from there right now!" Percy barked out the window. Everyone sitting in the living room stopped what they were doing to see what Percy was yelling at. His twin daughters were climbing up a tree, and throwing acorns at the gnomes in the garden.  
>George roared with laughter and smacked Percy on the shoulder. "Let them be, Perce. They're just acting like kids."<br>"They could get hurt," Percy pointed out.  
>"Don't you remember all the mischief Fred and I used to get up to when we were their age?" George asked, staring out the window, with a big smile on his face.<br>"Didn't you run about the house chasing Ron with a gnome painted in black?" Ginny recalled.  
>"He was convinced that it was a spider," Charlie added, chuckling.<br>"I'm never going to forget that," Ron added, making everyone in the room laugh. Dominique laughed with her cousins.  
>"Fancy a game of Quidditch anyone?" she stood up and looked outside. It was a really nice day, and she didn't want to spend all of it indoors. Molly and Lucy were still dangling off the branches of a nearby tree.<br>"I'm in!" Harry said. He and Dominique managed to get a few other family members off their lazy backsides. They all headed to the broom shed to collect their brooms before heading out onto the familiar large paddock surrounded by trees.  
>"I shotgun being on your team, Dominique," Harry said aloud. Everyone else groaned.<p>

The train ride back to school was very short but also very tiring, so by the time Dominique reached the Slytherin Common Room, she couldn't wait to be in bed and asleep. Without waiting up for anyone, she headed to the girls' dormitories. The next morning, she awoke to an empty room. It seemed like everyone had gone down to breakfast without her. She dressed and made her way to the Great Hall. As Slytherins passed her, they reduced their voices to a whisper. This didn't faze her as much as she didn't get along with that group anyway.  
>"Hey guys! How was your Christmas break?" Dominique found her friends after scanning the Slytherin table. They were sitting at the far end today.<br>Without looking at her, and mumbling to themselves, they stood up and left her standing there. Tessa looked back at her, but Alexandra nudged her on.  
>"So it's true then? What they were saying on the train," Travis said, from the other side of the table. "The Weasleys have got a disease, and since you're a Weasley, you've got it too. Is it contagious?"<br>"What!" Dominique asked loudly, taken aback. Where was this coming from? "I have not got a disease!" she stated angrily.  
>"Fine, deny that, Weasley," Jane said, wrinkling her nose. "But I wonder…" she looked up menacingly. "Do you deny going into a second-floor ward at St. Mungo's?"<br>Dominique's eyes widened. How did they know about _that_?  
>"I didn't think so," Jane replied smugly, adding, "Psycho."<br>"I –" but Dominique found herself lost for words. She spun on her heel and walked out of the Great Hall, sobbing.

She cleaned herself up before Potions, and walked through the school with her head held high. This was one of the things she had learnt to do ever since she was a small child, as people tended to stare at their family, and especially at her father and his scarred face. People skirted around her in the corridors, avoided her eyes and made fun of her from a distance. She managed to get through half the day without speaking to anyone, though she of course, was not to blame. It got much worse, however, when she visited the girls' bathroom after lunch. Locking herself up in a cubicle to have a good cry before Charms (for she had learnt that one should never bottle up their feelings), Dominique overheard some girls talking.  
>"Scrofungulus, wasn't it?" one of the girls said, not bothering to lower her voice. "I heard it was that."<br>"I heard differently," another girl replied. "Something to do with Dark Magic."  
>"Godric, I wouldn't be surprised if she had both," the first girl sniggered. "Who's your source?"<br>The second girl hesitated before replying, "You first."  
>"Well, I heard it from Bronwyn, who heard it from Georgia, who heard it from that weird boy in Hufflepuff, what's his name again? Samson, that's right. He heard it from someone else or something, but what does it matter? Who'd you hear it from?"<br>Again, the second girl hesitated before replying, "Straight from the source itself, Roxanne Weasley."

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN:_**_ Until next Wednesday then! Ciao x_


	5. Truth

_**A/N:**__ Hey all, I know I said I wouldn't be updating until Wednesday, but here's a special Easter treat for you! I'm sorry this is such a short chapter, but as the title says, you do finally get some parts of the truth, so I hope that makes up for it. I don't know if I can get another chapter written by Wednesday, so for now, I'll say until Wednesday week! Happy Easter!_

_REUPLOADED because of a minor error. Thanks Andrew :)_

**Disclaimer:** I, unfortunately, do not own HP. He belongs to Queen Rowling. :)

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><p><strong>Chapter Five: Truth<strong>

"How could you!" Dominique shouted. She slammed the door behind her. The whole Charms class stared at her.  
>"Miss Weasley, sit down," Professor Flitwick ordered. Dominique however, ignored him. She looked straight at her cousin.<br>"You knew, and you swore never to speak of it again," Dominique said, trying to calm herself, but it didn't work. Raising her voice again, she shouted, "What have you got to say for yourself? Huh?"  
>"Miss Weasley, now that is enough!" Professor Flitwick said feebly. "I will not tolerate this behaviour in my classroom."<br>However, his words were not heard, because Roxanne had just shouted, "I didn't do it!"  
>"What are you talking about? Of course you did, you've been out to get me since the start of this year," Dominique replied angrily. "And now you have. Are you happy?"<br>She stormed out of the room, again ignoring poor Professor Flitwick who was calling her back.  
>"Dominique!" Roxanne pushed her chair back, and winced as it scraped against the ground. She ran out after her cousin.<p>

Dominique was aware that Roxanne was following her. She was so angry, and she was scared that she would lose control, just like she had all those years ago. As much as she disliked Roxanne now, she didn't want to hurt her. Her family would never forgive her. She would never forgive herself. She still hadn't. She walked around the castle, trying to avoid people, ignoring portraits who were yelling after her about their petty problems. She found that walking always helped her to calm down. She didn't go to any of her classes that were scheduled that day, instead, she sat on top of the astronomy tower, staring out at the grounds blankly.

For the next week or so, Dominique tried to keep a low profile, which was hard for her to do because she was still the talk of the school. As she walked into the Great Hall for dinner one evening, whispers broke out like wildfire.  
>"Doesn't Hogwarts have anything better to gossip about?" she muttered to herself.<br>"Weirdo!" a passing Hufflepuff boy directed at her. Clenching her fists, she managed to ignore him.

Out of the four Houses, the one who was meant to be her family treated her the worst. She had heard her family putting Slytherin down over the years, yet had never understood why until now. Once they heard the news about Dominique, they cut her off immediately, disowned her like she was never one of their own. Some ignored her, some tried to wind her up, and some acted nice to her but cut all the pretences once she turned her back. Travis had told her that she couldn't play Quidditch for Slytherin anymore, and had already found a replacement Seeker. And this was all Roxanne's fault. All her fault. Thinking about this made Dominique's blood boil. It made her angry. She couldn't contain it any longer. This time, she didn't care who she would hurt. Roxanne was going to pay.

Nobody stopped her as she walked up to her cousin.  
>"Dominique," Roxanne said softly. "Are you alright?"<br>"We need to talk," Dominique said, her voice monotonous.  
>"Okay," Roxanne nodded. She led the way to a part in the Transfiguration courtyard where no one could overhear them talking. Roxanne's friends looked at her curiously, but she shook her head at them. They stood, grouped together, waiting for her.<br>"What did you want to talk to me about?" Roxanne turned her back on her friends and faced Dominique. "Is this about the other day? Because I want you to know that I forgive you for yelling at me."  
>"You - what?" Dominique paused. "No, I don't believe you have."<br>"Why would I talk to you right now, if I haven't forgiven you?" Roxanne reasoned.  
>"Because you didn't have a choice," Dominique looked straight into her cousin's eyes.<br>"But I -"  
>"This is all your fault."<br>Roxanne saw that fiery look in Dominique's eyes and realised only a second too late what was going to happen. Dominique pounced.

* * *

><p>"She WHAT?" Victoire stood up, shouting at Professor McGonagall. Her mother pulled her back onto the chair.<br>Professor McGonagall swallowed before repeating what she had said, "She pulled Miss Weasley's hair and attempted to scratch her face, after punching every part of Miss Weasley that she could reach, according to eye-witnesses."  
>"She usually isn't a physical child," Bill said quietly.<br>"Toujours heureuse," Fleur added miserably. "Always happy."  
>"She hasn't been very happy lately," Fred spoke up. His parents looked at him, as did every other person in the room, including the portraits on the wall.<br>"What do you mean?" Professor McGonagall asked briskly.  
>"She's been keeping to herself a lot, distancing herself. Even when she's in a room full of people, she's still in her own little world," Fred explained. His mother put a hand on his shoulder.<br>"VICTOIRE! Why didn't you tell us about this!" Bill raised his voice.  
>"Bill," George warned. He knew that his eldest brother had a terrible temper, and didn't want him to take it out on his daughter.<br>"What led to this?" Fleur turned to her nephew.  
>However, it was Victoire who answered, "There <em>were<em> rumours going around, but I didn't think she was stupid enough to believe them."  
>"Watch your mouth, young lady," Bill's ears turned red.<br>"What I want to know," Angelina spoke up. "Is what led to Dominique attacking my daughter."  
>"I think we all want to know that," Professor McGonagall said.<br>Fleur and Bill exchanged worried looks.

Dominique sat on the top step leading to the door to the Headmistress's office. The stone gargoyle below her was sealed, not letting anyone through to Professor McGonagall. She knew that there was a crowd there, waiting to see what would happen to her. She had been told to wait, so wait she had, overhearing everything that her family and Roxanne's family had to say about her - Professor McGonagall had forgotten to put a Silencing Charm on the door. She decided that she had had enough, she got up, dusted herself clean and pushed through the crowd at the bottom of the gargoyle staircase. Time to walk her rage off.

She had attacked Roxanne, her cousin. It sounded so much worse when Aunt Angelina said it. What had happened to keeping control? What happened to keeping her anger intact? What happened to walking it off? Dominique had found herself in the Hospital Wing after she had 'attacked' Roxanne, confused and feeling extremely tired. Madam Promfrey had given her a dark look, muttering nonsense to herself as she walked past the end of her bed and behind some curtains. There were some people behind those curtains, but Dominique couldn't hear what they were saying. She drifted off into a very unpleasant sleep. The next thing she knew, her mother and father stood on each side of her bed, demanding to know what was going on. She didn't have an explanation, but saw the scared look her mother gave her father. Was this really happening, _again_? Lost in her pool of self-hate and pity, she turned a corner and walked straight into Callum, her Potions partner.

"Hey, hey," he steadied her. "What's wrong?"  
>"Oh please, don't tell me you don't know," she said angrily through gritted teeth.<br>"Dominique," he said uncertainly. "I heard some things, but I assumed they were only rumours. They are, aren't they?"  
>She didn't answer him. He followed her outside where she sat on the edge of the Black Lake. He sat beside her.<br>"I missed you in Potions," he voiced, calming her instantly. She realised that this was what she needed, someone too care about her, not to judge her because of her House, not to talk about her secretly behind her back. But to have someone to talk to about anything, everything. She had had that with her Slytherin friends, until they turned their backs on her. She had had that with her family, until she returned to Hogwarts. She had had that with Roxanne, until...until _the incident_.  
>"I'm sorry," she said quietly, letting her head fall so that her chin was resting on her neck. They sat in silence for a while, shivering slightly as the wind blew past them, rustling the leaves of the Forbidden Forest.<p>

"They're not right, but they're true," Dominique brought up. She watched a spider scurrying up a rock.  
>"The rumours?" Callum asked.<br>"Yes," Dominique confirmed.  
>Feeling it was safe to do so now, Callum asked, "The second-floor ward of St. Mungo's?"<br>Dominique sighed. Here was her chance to tell the full story. "I was visiting my cousin. He had the vanishing sickness, and it's highly contagious, so we had to wear these special masks. I can only assume that somebody saw me in there."  
>"So you're not contagious," he nudged her softly. However, Dominique glared at him. "Okay, sorry, I was joking..."<br>Ignoring that, Dominique continued on with her story, afraid that if she stopped for a while, then she would chicken out of telling Callum the full thing. "That same day, I had an appointment up in the fourth-floor ward."  
>"Spell Damage," Callum recalled seeing the floor-guide behind the Welcome-Witch when had visited his sister in the hospital. "What happened?"<br>"When I was younger, I lost self-control really easily. I guess it doesn't help that I have a bad temper too. The Healers said that it was because I had both werewolf and Veela in my blood. They explained that Victoire didn't have it because she had more Veela in her, and Louis had more werewolf. I was in the middle, so I had both." She took a breath. "It never used to be so bad, as long as I didn't get angry. But one day, Roxanne and I were playing with one of our Muggle neighbours, Chelsea, and I had accidentally done magic in front of her. Chelsea was this bossy girl, and she kept demanding that I show her how to do it. But I kept refusing. This happened over some time, our parents were completely clueless as to what was happening. One day, I think I just lost it, Roxanne was there, probably scared out of her wits."  
>"Holy cricket, how old were you, Dom?" Callum interrupted.<br>"Probably around eight or nine," she replied. "Anyway, I woke up with the same feeling I had a couple of weeks ago when uh, Roxanne was hospitalised. Confused and extremely tired. My mother took me to see Chelsea and she was covered in bruises and there was blood, everywhere. I was horrified. My father sent me straight to St. Mungo's where I had to have these therapy sessions to control my anger, and to keep my magic intact."  
>"Damn, Dom, that's quite a story," Callum whistled. "What happened with Roxanne?"<br>"She and her parents were told to keep this a secret, to never speak about it again," Dominique said. "Until of course, she started this stupid rumour." She threw a rock into the Black Lake, it bounced off the ice and into the distance.  
>"Hey, calm down," Callum said, afraid that she would lose control again.<br>Dominique took a few deep breaths, "I'm calm. Sorry."  
>"What I don't understand is...why would Roxanne start that rumour about Weasleys being contagious? She <em>is <em>a Weasley herself."  
>"I don't know," Dominique wrinkled her brow. "Unless she thought she would be unaffected...the cousin who had the vanishing sickness wasn't even a Weasley. He's my cousin on my mother's side."<br>"It doesn't make sense."  
>"No, but she got what she deserved. She hasn't talked to me since that day with Chelsea, all because I made a mistake. She could have forgotten about it, but no, she continued to hold it against me," Dominique said quietly, anger lacing her tone.<br>Callum stayed quiet, letting this slide. If he argued with her, the chances of her losing her temper would be much higher.

* * *

><p>Roxanne had been let out of the Hospital Wing, her bruises finally disappearing. Dominique was called a 'psycho' more often now, but found that she didn't really care. She knew the full story, they didn't. She walked with her head held high, and went to every class with a quill and some parchment ready. If she couldn't focus on Quidditch, or her friends, she could focus on her studies instead. On one particular evening, Dominique was walking to the Great Hall after studying in the Library, when she heard her name. Stopping in the middle of the empty corridor, she could hear urgent whispers coming from a door to her left. She pressed her ear up against the door.<p>

"Yeah, Dominique's gone now, ticked off the list," a boy said. He sounded very familiar.  
>"Thank Salazar too, she's just as bad as those Mudbloods," a girl spoke up. "I can't believe I was ever friends with her."<br>"Yeah, those rumours were a brilliant idea." Another voice. This sounded like a group gathering. "How did you make them up?"  
>"How couldn't I?" the girl replied nastily.<br>Dominique chanced a peek through the keyhole and gasped. Sitting on the table was Alexandra, Ethan and a bunch of other Slytherins. Dominique turned around, her knees buckled and she slid to the ground. She covered her face with her hands.

_What had she done?_

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><p><em><strong>AN: **__What do you think? Leave me some reviews of what you think might happen next? Or of anything you want me to change/continue? (:_


	6. The Plan

_**A/N:**_ _I am so sorry for taking so long with this! I know, it's been over a week, terrible. And I missed yesterday's deadline. Truth is, I've had a bit of writer's block, and One Direction have been in town, so I couldn't concentrate on anything at all. I'm a little behind on uni now, but I find that I write more when I am at uni, in between waiting for classes…so hopefully I can write more soon (:. From here on out, if you want to know how I'm going with my story, check out my profile, I'll be posting updates on there when I can. This chapter is a little…low quality, in my opinion. Let me know what you think? :) x_

_**Di****sclaimer:** HP belongs to JKR. :)_

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><p><strong>Chapter Six: The Plan<strong>

"Roxanne, I'm really sorry."  
>"Go away, Dominique. I don't want to talk to you."<br>Dominique took a deep breath. "Roxanne -"  
>"Save it, Dominique. I don't want to hear it."<br>"Ssshhhh!" Madam Pince swooped down on them. Roxanne packed up her books, glared at Dominique and left. Dominique sighed. Walking outside, she saw Victoire and Fred in mid-conversation.  
>"Fred, I just want to say sorry for -" Dominique began. However, Fred turned his back on her and walked away. "Fred," she repeated, in a small voice.<br>"He doesn't know," Victoire, who was still standing there, said.  
>"What?"<br>"He doesn't know about your condition."  
>"So he thinks that I...hurt his sister on purpose?" Dominique began walking towards the Great Hall. Victoire followed her.<br>"Yes," Victoire said.  
>"Why didn't you tell him the truth!" Dominique stopped walking and turned to face her sister.<br>"Do you want it to get out? The rumours were bad enough, Dominique. And then when you...hurt Roxanne, that was pretty bad too. Do you want people to keep talking about you?" Victoire asked her sister.  
>"Fred is family. I think he deserves to know," Dominique said. "As for the others, I'd prefer it for them to know the truth instead of spreading lies about me."<br>"That is fair enough," Victoire said quietly.  
>"Why are you talking to me?" Dominique asked suddenly. Victoire looked stunned.<br>"Why wouldn't I?" she shot back.  
>"Just the other day, you were avoiding eye-contact and you even called me stupid, and today...you're all...sisterly," Dominique pointed out.<br>"I didn't mean it and I'm your sister. It's my job to act sisterly."  
>"Well, you haven't been doing a good job of it lately," Dominique said before joining the Slytherin table for lunch. Victoire stood rooted to the spot, staring after her sister.<p>

After lunch, Dominique headed to the Greenhouses for Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Standing by herself in her usual spot in the middle, she was very surprised to see Alexandra come to stand next to her.  
>"Hi Dom," she said brightly. Dominique looked at her suspiciously.<br>"Hi Alex, finally talking to me again, are you?" Dominique said, rather aggressively, daring Alexandra to reveal more.  
>"Look, it was all a misunderstanding," Alexandra began.<br>"Not to the rest of the school, apparently," Dominique said rather contemptuously. "To them, I'm some psycho who assaulted her cousin and had some weird, contagious disease."  
>"Well, I've decided that you're normal now," Alexandra said, looking around. She made eye-contact with Ethan but looked away. Dominique made a note to question her about that later.<br>"So I wasn't normal before?" Dominique asked, her eyes narrowing.  
>"You were having some...issues..." Alexandra said carefully.<br>"Yes, I was," Dominique didn't deny it. However, she also added in a clear voice so that the whole room could hear, "But those issues were caused by you, Malfoy."  
>Dominique saw the scared look on Alexandra's face when she said that, she realised that Dominique knew what she was up to. Fortunately for her, Professor Longbottom came into the greenhouse and asked for silence. Dominique shot Alexandra a look of loathing before turning to the front.<p>

Dominique couldn't focus on what Professor Longbottom was saying...something about asphodel and belladonna. She kept glancing at Alexandra, wondering what had happened. Why had she been so nice to Dominique at the start of the school year? Why was she being so mean now? Perhaps Uncle Ron was right, maybe the Malfoys were a bad family. That still didn't explain why Alexandra was so kind to her, taking her in, helping her when she was lost. She was going to get to the bottom of this. How though...? She had heard Aunt Hermione talking to Aunt Ginny about Legilimency, but only knew that it was a form of mind-reading. Besides, from what Uncle Harry says, the Malfoy family were good at Occlumency. She needed to know the truth, and she knew someone she could ask for help.  
>"Miss Weasley?" Professor Longbottom said.<br>"I'm sorry, what was the question?" Dominique asked quietly, a pink tinge appearing on her cheeks. Alexandra smirked at her.  
>"I asked for one use of belladonna," Professor Longbottom said patiently.<br>"Um..." Dominique looked around the room. Most of her classmates were staring at her. "In a potion?"  
>"Yes..." Professor Longbottom urged her to go on, but she shook her head. "Miss Weasley is correct. Belladonna is used in many potions, but it's very strong and can cause hallucinations. That's why it's mostly used in love potions…I'm sure Professor Slughorn will explain more when you do advanced potions in a few years' time." He shuddered.<br>The bell rang out from the school.  
>"Okay, class, your homework is to research what asphodel is used for. I'll be questioning you next time." Professor Longbottom called out over the noise of books getting shoved into bags, conversations starting up again and the sound of feet heading quickly for the door.<p>

* * *

><p>Over the next couple of days, Dominique worked up her courage to go and ask her sister for help. She also kept to herself a lot, not that a lot of people made the effort to get in her way. She saw Victoire talking to Flora Longbottom at the bottom of the marble staircase, swallowed her pride and headed over.<p>

"Dominique, what a lovely surprise," Victoire said brightly, though there was a hint of sarcasm to her tone. She obviously remembered the way their last conversation had ended. "This is my sister, Flora."  
>"It's nice to meet you," Flora said, giving her a small smile. "I'll see you in there, Victoire." She walked through the double doors and into the Great Hall.<br>"What do you want?" Victoire asked her sister, dropping the facade a soon as her friend left.  
>"What happened to being all sisterly?" Dominique shot back.<br>"I tried that, obviously, it didn't work."  
>"So you're going to go back to hating me?" Dominique asked, feeling a little hurt.<br>"Hate you? Dom! I could never hate you." Victoire answered soothingly.  
>"Then why have you been avoiding me?"<br>Victoire turned bright red, and muttered a few words under her breath that Dominique didn't catch. She stared at her sister, but she didn't receive an answer.  
>"What do you want?" Victoire repeated, obviously ignoring the subject.<br>"I need your help," Dominique admitted.  
>"And what makes you think I'll help you?" Victoire asked. Dominique was annoyed by her constant changes in character.<br>"Because if you don't, I'll tell Maman and Dad about Teddy," Dominique taunted.  
>"You wouldn't! They would kill me!" Victoire stared at her younger sister.<br>"Then help me," Dominique stated plainly.  
>Victoire groaned. Sighing, she looked around the Entrance Hall worriedly, before nodding her head at Dominique.<br>"Fine."

* * *

><p>"Veritaserum?" Dominique asked sceptically. She had told her sister everything that had happened with Alexandra Malfoy, and this was the suggestion that Victoire had come up with.<p>

Victoire nodded, "Three drops and the truth comes spilling out."  
>"Does it really work?" Dominique tilted her head to the side.<br>"Apparently..." Victoire drifted off, before adding, "Yes. I read about it Uncle Harry's biography of his school-life. They used it on some Death Eater and he told them the truth."  
>"How am I going to get my hands on some?"<br>Victoire gave her a wicked grin, "I know just the person."  
>Dominique gaped at her sister. She couldn't believe that her sister had just grinned at her, Victoire never grinned. Hell, she couldn't believe that her sister was actually helping her.<br>Standing up, Victoire turned to face her sister, "Coming?"  
>Dominique nodded mutely, still thinking to herself.<p>

Victoire stopped outside a portrait of a fat lady.  
>"I don't know if I'm allowed to let you in or not..." Victoire told Dominique a little awkwardly.<br>"Um, it's okay. I can wait out here," Dominique said quietly.  
>"Okay," Victoire gave her a fleeting look before heading into the Gryffindor Common Room.<br>Ten minutes later, she came out with Fred Weasley II.  
>"Fred," Dominique said.<br>"Dominique," he nodded at her. Dominique looked at her sister, who was looking amused.  
>"He knows now," Victoire said.<br>"I'm sorry," Dominique told Fred again. "I didn't mean to -"  
>"I'm sorry too," Fred interrupted, smiling at her. She gave him a small smile. "Vic told me about your need for Veritaserum."<br>"Yeah, I have no idea how or where I'm going to get some," Dominique told him.  
>"I thought you were meant to be a Weasley!" Fred teased. "And sly because you're a Slytherin."<br>Dominique's cheeks turned red but she said firmly, "I am a Weasley and I am in Slytherin."  
>Fred laughed, "I'm only playing with you. Relax!"<br>"You're in luck," Victoire piped up. "Fred has seen a bottle of Veritaserum in Professor Slughorn's office."  
>"We're going to steal it?" Dominique asked.<br>Fred's eyes sparkled as he confirmed, "Yep!" He pulled out a black rock from one pocket. "Peruvian Instant Darkness powder." He nodded and pulled a funny looking object out of his other pocket. "Decoy Detonators. That should keep Slughorn busy. Now I'll be doing the actual stealing, because I am the only one who knows where it is. You and Victoire will keep an eye on him. If he's not buying the distracting, talk to him about the Slug Club or something."  
>"We can do that," Dominique said, starting to feel butterflies in her stomach. She had never done anything so dare-devilish before. This, she supposed, was another reason why she wasn't Sorted into Gryffindor.<br>"Allons-y!" Victoire said. "Let's go!"

Half an hour later, they stood outside the Library laughing with one another.  
>"That was exhilarating!" Dominique said, still trying to catch her breath.<br>Victoire laughed at her, "Don't make a habit out of it."  
>"Don't worry, I'm not as brave as you Lions," Dominique said.<br>Victoire and Fred laughed some more.  
>"Here," Fred pushed the little bottle into Dominique's hand. "Remember, three drops."<br>Dominique nodded. "I'll do it tomorrow morning."  
>"You have to tell me everything when it's over, " Victoire gave her sister a concerned look. Dominique looked away uncomfortably.<p>

Victoire had never been the comforting or worrying type. She wasn't even really sisterly. As a child, she kept to herself a lot, only seeing the family, and Dominique, at meal times and when there was a compulsory family party to attend. She and Dominique had never been close, and when Victoire got her letter to Hogwarts, the gap got bigger. Dominique didn't know what to think of her sister now.

Dominique nodded at Victoire, promising to tell her what she knew as soon as she found out.

* * *

><p>Putting Veritaserum into a cup full of pumpkin juice proved to be harder than Dominique had originally thought. People were always looking at her, so she felt that she couldn't risk it, even if Alexandra had her back turned, deep in conversation with Tessa. Fortunately for her, Hagrid had somehow let one of his creatures loose in the Entrance Hall, which drew in many curious stares from the students, and the teachers. Dominique pulled off the lid of the tiny bottle of Veritaserum and poured three drops into Alexandra's pumpkin juice. She watched with satisfaction as Alexandra got bored with the spectacle in the Entrance Hall, turned around and drained her cup.<p>

As soon as Alexandra stood up to leave for class, Dominique followed her out and cornered her.  
>"We need to talk," she said. Alexandra scowled, but nodded.<br>"We have class now," Ethan interrupted.  
>"Class can wait, Parkinson," Dominique fired back, without looking at him. "I just need to talk with Malfoy, preferably alone."<br>"That's not going to happen, Weasley," Alexandra spoke up. "Last time you talked to someone alone, they ended up being knocked out. If we are to talk, I need some backup."  
>"And Parkinson is your number one?" Dominique scoffed. "Fine."<p>

They found themselves sitting in an empty classroom. Dominique sat facing Ethan and Alexandra. He glanced around rather nervously, while she stared at the blank wall.  
>"You spread the rumours about me?" Dominique prompted after some time.<br>"Yes," Alexandra replied, without hesitating. Ethan stared at her in shock.  
>"Do you know the truth?" Dominique asked, surprised at how calm she was, and surprised that the Veritaserum could actually be working.<br>"I know all about Chelsea, yes," Alexandra replied. Dominique looked at her suspiciously.  
>"Then why didn't you spread <em>those<em> rumours? Why did you make things up?"  
>Alexandra shrugged. "To get you back."<br>"For what? I didn't do anything to you," Dominique asked in bewilderment.  
>"Your family did," Alexandra replied shortly.<br>"What do you mean?" Dominique pressed on.  
>"She means that the Potter-Weasleys haven't been exactly civil with the Malfoys," Ethan interrupted. He figured that since Alexandra was telling the truth, he probably should too.<br>"Stay out of it, Parkinson," Dominique warned. She took a breath before continuing her interrogation. "Okay, so whatever the plan was, Parkinson was in on it?"  
>Alexandra nodded.<br>"What was the plan?" Dominique asked.  
>"I was to make life hell for you. Just like they did to my family," Alexandra said bluntly.<br>"But..." Dominique took a minute to consider. "Why are you taking it out on me? Why not just take uh...revenge out on the Potter children?"  
>"Potter, Weasley, they're the same thing now. You're all related," Ethan scoffed .<br>Ignoring him, Alexandra answered as if she had memorised this word-for-word from somewhere, "Every Potter-Weasley child to enter Hgwarts after this year will suffer the wrath of the Malfoys."  
>"I don't understand," Dominique said after a while. "Why were you so nice to me at the beginning of the year?"<br>Alexandra stared at the wall blankly. Finally, she shrugged, "I don't know."  
>"Were we even friends?"<br>"Yes."  
>"Then what happened!" Domimique raised her voice in frustration.<br>Alexandra shrugged again. Dominique banged her fist on the table. Ethan and Alexandra jumped in their seats at the noise.  
>"Sorry," Dominique said, out of habit. She composed herself, before asking, "Why don't you want to be my friend anymore?"<br>"You're a Weasley," Alexandra said shortly.  
>"Tell me something I don't know," Dominique rolled her eyes.<br>"My grandfather told me that all Weasleys were blood-traitors. They tainted the pure-blood line and the wizarding world would be better off without them. And that's what I'm doing. Getting rid of them, one by one."  
>Dominique gasped for two reasons. One, she hadn't expected Alexandra to answer her, and two, that proclamation disturbed her. She was worried, from what she had just heard, this didn't sound like the Alexandra that she knew. Then again, she thought darkly, she had thought that Alexandra would never turn against her because of her name. Dominique was determined to get to the bottom of this.<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:** To be honest, I'm not very happy with the ending of this chapter. But I can work with it...I think. :/ Thoughts? x_


	7. Introspection

_**A/N:**_ _I am so so so so so sorry that I'm a day late again. I finished this at midnight last night, and I've been at primary school all week (for placement – as I'm studying to become a primary school teacher) so I've been exhausted haha. I was at primary school today too, so yeah, my lame excuses for being late._

A HUGE shoutout to

**misspotter94**_; her stories are absolutely amazing. There's a Lorpius (Lily/Scorpius) fic that she has just finished, and a Scorminique (Scorpius/Dominique) one that she has just started…they are brilliant, so if you've the time, check them out!_

REUPLOADED again because of a minor error. Sorry if this caused any inconvenience!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry. Wish I did though. But I'm glad Ms Rowling does :)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven: Introspection<strong>

After hearing Alexandra's proclamation, Dominique didn't feel like going to class. She felt quite anxious and to be frank, sick to the core. She knew that her family and the Malfoys didn't get along well, but she didn't think that Alexandra would take that hate, dwell on it, and act upon it. What had the witch said? _Her grandfather_had called all Weasleys blood traitors and the wizarding world would be better off without them. Dominique scoffed. She highly doubted that. The Weasleys had done their fair share of saving the world. Alexandra's grandfather had either been hibernating under a rock for the last twenty years or was completely delusional. Then again, Dominique thought to herself, she was being biased, because she was a Weasley. Maybe Alexandra's grandfather was being biased too, because he was a Malfoy. She decided to do some research, so she headed to the library.

Pulling a book titled '_The Second Wizarding War_' from the shelf, she sat down and flicked through it. Skipping the parts that she already knew, she came across a page that had a headline of _Death-Eaters_. She knew that Alexandra's grandfather had been a Death Eater, and even in Voldemort's inner circle, and that Alexandra's father had briefly been a part of the Dark side, and she knew that they didn't go to Azkaban because Uncle Harry spoke up for them, but she didn't know details, so that was what she was looking for. In the chapter that she was looking at, she found an article.

_'Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived himself, gave evidence that if it wasn't for Narcissa Malfoy, he would be dead. He also testified that the Malfoys only did what they had to do because they feared for their lives. The judge didn't look very happy, as Narcissa and her husband were a part of You-Know-Who's inner circle. Their son, Draco Malfoy, was also found guilty of the Dark Mark. Narcissa seemed to be grateful that Potter vouched for her and her family. Draco too, kept glancing at Potter as if wanting to catch his eye, but Potter only had eyes for the judge. Lucius Malfoy stared sullenly at the ground, and once the judge acquitted them, left the courtroom wordlessly.'_

Dominique didn't understand. Uncle Harry had basically saved their lives from being ruined. Why did the Malfoy family ask Alexandra to execute revenge? For Dominique was now certain that Alexandra was not working on her own accord. She was put up to it. The evidence? Before the Christmas break, she and Alexandra had gotten on very well...Alexandra had even admitted it under the influence of Veritaserum. Speaking of Christmas break, Dominique's thoughts wandered back to what Uncle Ron had said when she told him she had believed the Malfoys had changed: "_Whatever helps you sleep at night_". Was she sleeping better at night? She had to admit that she wasn't. Why didn't she ask Alexandra all these important questions when she had the chance? She had walked out after the revelation of the plan, but she didn't think that she would dwell on it so much. By now, the Veritaserum would have worn off. Mentally cursing herself for missing the opportunity, Dominique slammed her book shut and received a glare from the librarian, Madam Pince. She hurried out of the library, turned a corner and crashed into someone.

"Sorry!" she and the other person said at the same time.  
>"Roxanne," Dominique said shortly.<br>"Dominique, erm, hi," Roxanne said nervously. "Studying?"  
>Dominique looked at her cousin wearily. "Not really," she answered shortly.<br>"Oh, um, okay, I won't keep you any longer." Roxanne had just entered the door of the library.  
>"Roxanne, wait," Dominique called after. She was too curious, and after letting opportunities slide earlier, she had learnt her lesson. Roxanne turned around. Dominique took as breath and stated, "You're talking to me again."<br>"Erm, yes," Roxanne said, again nervously.  
>"Why?" Dominique asked.<br>"Do you always question why people talk to you?" an airy voice interrupted. Dominique narrowed her eyes at Victoire.  
>"Fred had a chat to me," Roxanne rolled her eyes. "Said that we're family, and blood is thicker than water and all that bullfish, and you know, I kind of agreed with him."<br>"Thank you," Dominique whispered. Roxanne nodded and left the sisters.  
>"You're just going to forgive her? After she refused to speak to you and made you apologise countless times?" Victoire asked indignantly.<br>Dominique shrugged, "You heard what she, or rather, Fred said. Blood is thicker than water. Maybe I should just forgive...but not forget." Suddenly, she let out a laugh, "You know, that was very Sytherin of you, Vic."  
>"How dare you?" Victoire asked in mock-outrage. Dominique just laughed at her, and soon enough, Victoire joined in.<p>

* * *

><p>Upon entering the common room that night with the intentions of going straight to bed, Dominique found Alexandra sitting alone by the fire. Though she had told herself to avoid all Slytherins, Dominique had been fighting the urge to confront Alexandra when in her normal state, that is, without Veritaserum running through her blood.<p>

"Your grandfather put you up to it, didn't he?" Dominique asked quietly, sitting opposite Alexandra.  
>"You had no right, Weasley," Alexandra glowered at her. Dominique looked at her blankly. "Oh don't look so innocent. I know you spiked my pumpkin juice with Veritaserum."<br>Dominique didn't say anything.  
>"It's none of your business," Alexandra said after some time."Of course it's my business, Malfoy," Dominique rolled her eyes. "You are planning to make life hell for me and my family. How is that not my business?"<br>"You weren't meant to find out," Alexandra said sullenly. Dominique cocked her head to one side thoughtfully.  
>"Parkinson told you, didn't he?" she asked.<br>"Look, Weasley, Parkinson has nothing to do with this," Alexandra said, rather protectively.  
>"Then why did you involve him? Once he heard you telling the truth, he basically blew his cover," Dominique shot back.<br>"Weasley," Alexandra gritted her teeth. "Just let me get on with my job."  
>"I can't allow that, Malfoy," Dominique said, clenching her fists. She raised her voice, unintentionally. "What else is your grandfather planning? Wizard God, why does your family hate mine so much! We basically saved your backside when you were about to be sent to Azkaban."<br>Alexandra let out a sigh and glared at Dominique angrily. "That's exactly why. Now go away."  
>"I don't get it," Dominique persisted. "The Potter-Weasleys have done so much for the wizarding world, and for your family. Shouldn't you be thanking us for the world what we live in today?" she tried to reason with Alexandra.<br>Alexandra ignored the comment, and pulled out her wand. "Get lost, Weasley, or else I'll hex you."  
>Dominique looked at the wand. She doubted that Alexandra would actually hex her, but she wasn't going to take chances. She still needed to get to the bottom of this, and being in the hospital wing wouldn't help her. Dominique began walking away, but not before turning and adding determinedly, "I will figure you out, Malfoy. And if you dare threaten to hex me again, I will hit you. My patience is at its limit."<br>"Whatever," Alexandra called after her, taunting her. Dominique used what was left of her patience and willpower to keep walking away.

In her dormitory, which thankfully was empty, Dominique sat down on her bed and reflected on what had just happened. She had threatened Alexandra, she never threatened anyone! Did she? She wasn't so sure now. What had happened with Chelsea and Roxanne were complete accidents, but this...this was real. This was happening. She had actively threatened someone. Was this who she was? Was this the person she had wanted to become? No, Dominique shook her head. Definitely not. She was disappointed. This was not how her first year at Hogwarts was meant to be like. What had gone wrong? Dominique scoffed to herself. She didn't even want to answer that question. She needed to get to the bottom of this, she just needed to. It was too important to let go. And if it'll save her younger cousins in the process, then it was something she would have to see through to the end. With these thoughts in mind, Dominique drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

><p>Exams were right around the corner, so any thoughts of figuring out what Alexandra was up to was driven from Dominique's thoughts. These exams were her first formal assessment, so she was über nervous. She supposed that her ambition drove her to work harder, so every night she was found in either the library or the common room, books around her, notes spread out in front of her. Nobody disturbed her, which she was happy about, but nobody spoke to her either, so she did feel a little lonely, but she didn't dwell on it. She focused on her studies.<p>

Her efforts paid off. Just before school finished for the year, the first-years received their exam results, and Dominique was proud to say that she passed every exam with flying colours. Even more surprised, she found out that Roxanne came out top of the year. Dominique guessed that it goes to show that even if you're the prankster's daughter and you had a rough and difficult year because of your cousin, you can still study hard and get good results.  
>"Professor McGonagall told me that you were top of the year after me," Roxanne's voice pulled Dominique out of her reverie.<br>"Um...thank you," Dominique replied, somewhat awkwardly. "Why didn't she tell me herself?"  
>"I'm sure she will," Roxanne replied, shrugging. "Just keep this on the down-low, you're not supposed to know yet."<br>Dominique nodded. As Roxanne waked away, Dominique called after her. "Roxy?"  
>Roxanne paused and turned around.<br>"Are we cool? You and I?" Dominique asked uncertainly.  
>Roxanne looked at her a little quizzically before saying, "Yeah, we're cool." Dominique nodded at her cousin. Roxanne added, chuckling quietly, "As long as you're up to a few jokes being played on you. Dad has been designing this whole new batch, and we need some testers." Her eyes twinkled mischievously.<br>"I wouldn't have it any other way," Dominique gave her a small smile. "And quite frankly, I think I need a few jokes in my life."

"Miss Weasley, a word if you please?" Professor McGonagall called from the door. Roxanne beamed and gave Dominique a little push towards the door.  
>Dominique sat down opposite Professor McGonagall. Despite knowing what she was there for, Dominique couldn't help but feel a little nervous.<br>"You and Miss Weasley seem to have patched things up since the er...incident that happened earlier this year," Professor McGonagall began, quite conversationally. "I take it that you have moved on?"  
>"Yes, Professor," Dominique nodded.<br>"I am happy to see that. And I have also been monitoring your school work, and I'm very glad that none of this has affected your academics at all," Professor McGonagall said.  
>"Me too," Dominique admitted.<br>"It's been a rough year for you, hasn't it?" Professor McGonagall asked kindly. Dominique remained silent. Professor McGonagall surveyed her before continuing. "I just want you to know that you are never alone. My good friend once said 'help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it'."  
>"I -" Dominique began, but she was interrupted by the Headmistress.<br>"No, I don't want you to comment on it. Just think about it," Professor McGonagall said. It wasn't an order, but Dominique followed it anyway. "See you at the End-of-Term feast, Miss Weasley."  
>Dominique recognised this as her dismissal. On her way out, she saw the portrait of Albus Dumbledore wink at her and smiled to herself. If she wasn't mistaken, she now knew who Professor McGonagall's good friend was.<p>

* * *

><p>"She won't talk to me at all."<br>Dominique, who was sitting in a compartment with Callum and his Ravenclaw friends, rolled her eyes. The compartment door was open, so the carrying voices of Ethan Parkinson and the other Slytherins could be heard quite clearly. Dominique stood up and was just about to close the door when Ethan rushed out of his compartment and came to a stop in front of her.  
>Dominique stared at him in bewilderment.<br>"Weasley, you've got to help me," Ethan said.  
>"And why should I do that?" Dominique asked, her tone hostile.<br>Ethan glanced back at the compartment. "It's Alex. I'm worried about her,"  
>"Malfoy has nothing to do with me," Dominique said. She turned around and tried to close the door, but Ethan held it open.<br>"I think she may be a little...sick in the head," Ethan said quietly. Dominique froze.  
>"I can't help," she told him.<br>"What's going on?" Callum stood up and faced Ethan.  
>"Parkinson thinks Malfoy has gone round the twist," Dominique explained. "He wants me to help." She turned to Ethan. "What is it that you want me to do exactly?"<br>"Just talk to her," Ethan said quickly. "She won't talk to me or anyone else."  
>"What makes you think she'll listen to me?" Dominique asked sceptically. "If you don't remember, she kind of hates my guts."<br>"I'll try to talk to her," Callum volunteered.  
>Dominique raised an eyebrow at him.<br>"If she won't talk to someone she knows, maybe she'll say something to someone she doesn't know very well," Callum explained his train of thought.  
>"Worth a try," Ethan mumbled. "This way, Nicholson."<br>Dominique followed them.

"Malfoy," Callum sat down next to Alexandra. She turned to look at him, but did not respond. Callum continued, "Do you know who I am?"  
>Dominique thought he was handling this really well. She probably would have shouted already. Obviously, patience wasn't one of her stronger traits.<br>Alexandra nodded, still staring blankly.  
>"Look, Malfoy...Alex," Callum shifted his position. "I just need you to talk to me."<br>She hissed, curling up into a ball.  
>"I'm not going to hurt you," Callum said calmly. He reached out to gently pat her on the shoulder, but she lunged at him, her hands clasping around his throat.<br>Dominique screamed, as she and Ethan jumped up to pull Alexandra away. What in the name of Merlin was going on?

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**_ Introspection _is the observation or examination of one's own mental processes_. _This chapter is titled Introspection because I hoped to convey Dominique's mental processes. There's quite a lot of reflection in this chapter. _

_Also, it's sometimes a little hard for me to write because I keep forgetting that Dominique is only eleven years old. She (and Harry, Ron and Hermione when they were in their first-year) seem so mature!_

_Don't forget to check my profile for updates on my writing status, and review this. Until next Wednesday (hopefully haha). :) x_


	8. Breaking News

_**A/N:**__I am so sorry for the uber late update. As stated on my profile on Tuesday, I had a 2000 word essay due today (Friday), and I really needed to finish that before I concentrated on writing. In saying that, I'm not very happy with this chapter...but it'll make do for now. It may seem a little repetitive and long, but in my opinion, very necessary._

_Some background information before you read this: Harry and Draco do not hate each other anymore...nor are they friends, but they are on speaking terms. Draco did approve of the friendship between Alex and Dominique because he remembered back to the time when he wanted to befriend Potter. He's more open-minded now._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. :)_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eight: Breaking News<strong>

"Can we please see Alexandra Malfoy?" Dominique asked. She looked up at her mother, who gave her an encouraging nod.  
>The Welcome Witch looked at them wearily, shuffling her papers, "It has been instructed that Miss Malfoy only be visited by family. And clearly, you are not family, so please come back another time."<br>Fleur glanced around St. Mungo's. Dominique glared at the Welcome Witch. They were just about to turn away when a voice called out.  
>"Wait!"<br>The Welcome Witch stared at him.  
>"They are permitted to visit," he told the Welcome Witch in a cold voice.<br>She rolled her eyes at him. Dominique and her mother filed past her quietly and waited until they were out of earshot before speaking.  
>"Thank you, Meester Malfoy," Fleur, having just come back from a trip to France, said in a thick French accent. "And zey say that she eez here to welcome us to the hospital."<br>Draco Malfoy chuckled lightly. "How are you, Dominique?"  
>"I could be better," Dominique shrugged. Draco gave her a warm smile. He stopped outside the door, and motioned for them to be quiet.<br>"Alexandra, you have some visitors," he opened the door and said in a gentle tone.  
>Fleur and Dominique came into the private room. Alexandra looked at them.<br>"Who are you?" she asked.

* * *

><p><strong>THREE WEEKS AGO<strong>

_"Look, Malfoy...Alex," Callum shifted his position. "I just need you to talk to me."  
><em>_She hissed, curling up into a ball.  
><em>_"I'm not going to hurt you," Callum said calmly. He reached out to gently pat her on the shoulder, but she lunged at him, her hands clasping around his throat.  
><em>_Dominique screamed, as she and Ethan jumped up to pull Alexandra away. What in the name of Merlin was going on?_

Ethan held Alexandra back as Dominique dragged Callum away from her.  
>"Woah," Callum said, still taken aback. "Thanks."<br>"Anytime," Dominique replied quietly. "Parkinson?"  
>"You go ahead, I'll meet you on the platform," Ethan said, for they were now reaching Platform Nine and Three Quarters.<br>Dominique and Callum headed back to their compartment, grabbed their trunks and stepped off the train.

"Dominique, there you are, we missed you, honey!" Bill Weasley called out as soon as he saw his daughter.  
>"Dad," Dominique hugged him tightly. Fleur saw the worried look on her daughter's face.<br>"What's wrong?" she asked.  
>"Maman, Malfoy attacked Callum on the train," she said quickly, in a panicked voice.<br>Callum, who had gone to get his family, came over. He massaged his throat.  
>Fleur turned to her husband, "Where eez 'Arry? He will know how to handle this with Malfoy."<br>"At home," Bill replied. He muttered something under his breath and his Patronus cantered away amongst the students still filing out of the train. "He'll be here shortly. Are the Malfoys here?" he asks calmly.  
>They looked around the platform and spotted them standing in a secluded corner, waiting for the eldest daughter to hop off the train. Ethan Parkinson still hadn't gotten off. The Nicholsons greeted the Weasleys, waiting to see what course of action they were going to take next.<br>"Dominique, go tell them what happened," Bill noddded to his daughter.  
>"But Dad -"<br>"Dominique, go," Bill said a little more forcefully. "Callum, is it? Go with her."  
>"What's going on?" Victoire arrived, Teddy following just behind. Roxanne and Fred had wandered over too. Louis grabbed hold of his mother's hand.<p>

"Mr and Mrs Malfoy?" Dominique asked hesitantly. Callum hovered by her. His parents and sister stood talking to Dominique's parents.  
>They turned to look at her. Dominique noticed that their son was there too.<br>"Who are you?" Astoria Malfoy asked.  
>"This is Callum Nicholson. My name is Dominique Weasley," she glanced back to her family. "I was...I am a friend of your daughter's."<br>"Of course, we have heard a lot of about you," Draco Malfoy said. "Where is she then? I have an important meeting to attend."  
>"Mr Malfoy, Alex hurt Callum," Dominique said.<br>"She...strangled me," Callum elaborated.  
>"Are you sure?" Astoria's eyes widened. Dominique nodded. "No.."I don't believe it. My daughter wouldn't hurt a fly!"<br>Callum pulled back his collar to show her the bruises that were forming. Astoria's eyes widened. "Why?"  
>"She was acting weird last time I saw her...New Years," Scorpius Malfoy spoke up. They turned to look at him. "I don't know, we don't really talk much."<br>"I noticed a change in her around then too..," Dominique said.  
>At that moment, Harry Potter sprinted towards them.<br>"Dominique," he said, a little out of breath.  
>"She's on the train, Uncle Harry," Dominique pointed. "Ethan Parkinson is with her."<br>He nodded and sprinted off.  
>"Potter?" Draco asked Dominique before watching him run onto the train.<br>"He's an Auror," Dominique explained, with a hint of pride in her voice. "He'll know how to handle Alex...if she's dangerous."

"Mr and Mrs Malfoy," Bill came over, Fleur following him. The rest of the Weasleys, and the Nicholsons, stood in bewilderment watching them.  
>"Draco and Astoria, please," Astoria greeted them. "Mr and Mrs Weasley."<br>"Bill and Fleur," he replied. "I'm very sorry about this business with your daughter."  
>"We are too," Astoria took over the conversation, for Draco was sending off a note to the Ministry to tell them that he'd be late for the (apparently very important) meeting. "I'm sorry your daughter got involved. It's not something a young girl should be associated with."<br>Fleur nodded, absent-mindedly patting Dominique on the head.

"Let me go!" a piercing scream made all the commuters stop. "Don't touch me! My father will hear about this. Let me go!"  
>Harry emerged from the train, Alexandra slung across one shoulder, Ethan following him out, head bowed. He made his way to where his mother stood. Harry shot Draco an apologetic glance before mentally Stunning Alexandra. She slumped forward and went silent.<br>"She'll need to go to the hospital," Harry told the Malfoy family. "But I want to take her into my office for some tests and questioning first. Is that okay?"  
>Draco nodded curtly.<br>"You're welcome to come," Harry said. He turned to Bill and Fleur. "Is it okay if I take Dominique with me?"  
>Fleur, whose hand was on Dominique's shoudler, tightened her grip for a moment, but nodded hesitantly.<p>

* * *

><p>Dominique sat behind the tinted window with Draco, Astoria and Scorpius. Ethan Parkinson had decided that he had should go home, Alexandra didn't need him anymore. Callum was whisked off to St Mungo's by his paranoid mother, despite claiming that he was alright. Uncle Harry was behind the glass, examining Alexandra.<br>"Enervate," he muttered. She awoke, and screamed. Astoria winced. Draco took her hand. They had given Harry permission to Silence Alexandra and to Bind her, so that he could find out what was causing her strange behaviour. However, she was putting up a good fight. Even when Silent, she thrashed about in her chair, shaking her head, tears streaming down her face. Scorpius had to leave the room. Despite not talking much to his sister, he couldn't see her like this.

Half an hour later, Harry emerged from the room and addressed the Malfoys and Dominique.  
>"She's asleep," he said, in a grave voice. "I'm afraid that she has been tainted by Dark Magic."<br>"Dark Magic?" Astoria gasped. "Who? What?...Why!"  
>"How do you know?" Draco asked his former-arch-rival.<br>"Her eyes showed pain and suffering," Harry told them. "Don't ask me how I know that, when you've been working in this area for as long as I have...you just know. She's got bruises everywhere, which leads me to believe that she was being hurt. And the way she wouldn't say anything, it seems as if she was hiding something...perhaps a job that she had to do?"  
>"She was!" Dominique said, remembering the conversation she had when Alexandra was under the influence of Veritaserum. "She said that it was her job to get rid of all the Potter-Weasleys one by one."<br>"Why didn't you tell me this, Dominique?" Harry turned towards his niece.  
>"I don't know..." Dominique said. "I...I thought I could handle it."<br>"Bruises, did you say, Potter?" Draco's eyes narrowed.  
>"Yes. They look as if they're almost about to heal, but they're definitely there. Do you know how she's been getting them?"<br>Astoria looked at her husband, her face scrunched up in confusion, "The last time we saw her was when we came back from France to see her off at Platform Nine and Three Quarters after New Year's..."  
>"That's when she was acting weird," Scorpius added.<br>Astoria continued, "The rest of the time, she's been staying with your father..."  
>Draco inhaled sharply as realisation struck him. "THAT BASTARD!"<br>Dominique and Scorpius covered their ears.

* * *

><p><em>'The Daily Prophet,<br>B__REAKING NEWS__: Lucius Malfoy Arrested at Malfoy Manor. Reported by your Daily Prophet correspondent: Rita Skeeter.  
><em>_In an extraordinary case, solved by none other than the Boy Who Lived - Harry Potter - with the help of his arch-nemesis, Draco Malfoy, the rumours of a Death Eater reunion has been dispelled. Malfoy's daughter, who somehow ended up in the middle of this mess, ended up in hospital, though the reason is unknown. The elder Malfoy is due in the Wizengamot next week.'_

"What utter rubbish," Hermione scoffed, putting down the paper. "A Death Eater reunion? Where does she get her information from!"  
>"Can I please read that, Aunt Hermione?" Dominique asked across the table.<br>They were at all the Burrow.  
>"Of course," Aunt Hermione handed the paper over.<br>Dominique scanned through it. "Well, she got a few facts right..."  
>"What was wrong with the Malfoy girl anyway?" Uncle Ron asked, glancing at the paper. Dominique looked from her parents to Uncle Harry, who nodded, allowing her to speak of the ordeal that Alexandra had been through.<br>"She was under the Imperius Curse," Dominique answered him. "And she was...she was hit...by her grandfather."  
>Grandma Weasley exclaimed, "I knew that Lucius Malfoy was ruthless, but hurting his own granddaughter! I can't believe it."<br>"Why did he do that, Dominique?" Grandpa Weasley asked slowly.  
>"He wanted...revenge," Dominique shuddered.<br>"Enough questions," Fleur said sternly. "My daughter has been through enough. Dominique, go play with Roxanne."

* * *

><p>The week passed quickly, and all too soon, the day of Lucius Malfoy's hearing in the Wizengamot had arrived. Dominique followed her family into a large, cavernous room. She noddded to Ethan Parkinson, who sat with his mother, and to Callum, who sat with his elder sister and parents. Uncle Harry was there, seated already, and of course, the Malfoys had to be there too. Astoria and Draco sat together. Alexandra was still in hospital. Scorpius stared blankly at the roof, refusing to look down at the chair placed in the middle of the room - the chair that his grandfather was going to sit in.<p>

Lucius was brought in, unconscious, and strapped to the chair. Aurors stood guard nearby, just in case he decided to do a runner. Draco looked down at his father in disgust. Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister for Magic sat in the middle of the court room, one witch sat beside him, Uncle Harry sat on the other side and what looked like a scribe sat in front of him. The members of the Wizengamot whispered quietly to the people around them. Dominique watched as an Auror came in, holding a familiar-looking vial. She glanced at her sister. Victoire had noticed as well. She gave Dominique a small smile.

Kingsley cleared his throat. "Are we ready to begin?" he asked in his loud, but calm, voice. The room fell silent. "Hearing of the second of July to offences committed under the Decree of Wizarding Justice by Lucius Malfoy, resident of Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, England."  
>The scribe began taking notes at once.<br>Kingsley continued, in a booming voice, "Interrogators: Harry James Potter, Head of the Auror Office; Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; and Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister for Magic. Court Scribe, Katie Bell."  
>He looked down at Lucius. "Wake him."<br>Lucius looked a little stunned to be waking up in a court room filled with people, but he was not surprised.  
>"You are under the influence of Veritaserum," Kingsley said. "Do you understand?"<br>Lucius nodded.  
>"Now, please, tell me everything that happened. From the beginning."<p>

"After Narcissa left me, good riddance, I thought that there was nothing to lose," Lucius said, his voice barely a whisper. The way he spoke, however, gave the impression that he had wanted to tell this story a long time ago. "When Alexandra came back home for Christmas, all she talked of was her new friend. A Weasley," he spat. "I knew that it was time to implement my plan. My well-thought plan that I had been saving for a long time."  
>"And what was that plan?"<br>"The Weasleys, and that Potter, seemed to enjoy the fact that my family was humiliated. We worked hard to build a reputation -"  
>"Kissing the ass of the Dark Lord," Draco muttered, his voice filled with contempt.<br>"- and it was time for them to feel how I felt." He took a breath before continuing. "I knew that the Weasley girl had some problems in the past. I have contacts at St Mungo's...they keep me informed of what's going on...I...I...conveyed that information to my granddaughter -"  
>"Don't call her that," Astoria muttered murderously under her breath.<br>"- but I told her not to spread the truth. Make it seem like the Weasleys had a disease, so no one would go near her. Isolate her and destroy her." He looked around the court room. "I told her that I wouldn't hurt her if she did it. But she wouldn't do it! That little witch defied me. She gave me an outright 'no'. So I hit her." His eyes glinted maliciously.  
>Astoria and Harry, who were sitting on either side of Draco, had to hold him back. Scorpius still refused to look at his grandfather, and Dominique held tightly onto both Victoire and her mother's hands.<br>"She screamed. I silenced her. She ran. I locked the doors. There was nothing she could do, but obey me. I warned her that if she tried to run, I'd put the Cruciatus Curse on her. That scared her. But she cried. A lot. So I performed the Curse anyway. I cast the Imperius Curse on her, I didn't really want to, it was my...last resort. But she wouldn't listen to me. And I'm sure you know the rest of the story. She did as I asked. But the Weasley witch figured us out. She tried to make things right. I told Alexandra to pretend, play along, and ruin her again. I had to protect my family."  
>"I hate you!" Scorpius screamed loudly, standing up.<br>"Sit down, Scorpius," Astoria said sharply. "Do not talk to him."  
>Lucius looked up at his grandson. "I did it for you, son."<br>"Silence!" Kingsley Shacklebolt shouted, as cries of disgust and indignation carried across the members of the Wizengamot.  
>Harry raised his hand and looked at the Minister. Kingsley tore his eyes away from Lucius and turned to his Head Auror.<br>"May I speak, Minister?" Harry asked. Kingsley hesitated before nodding. "Malfoy, you chose the path of the Dark side for your family, I helped to drop the charges that the Ministry wanted to pit against you. Perhaps, yes, you suffered humiliation, but at the end of the day, you walk the streets a free man, instead of rotting in the hell."  
>Many people nodded in agreement, muttering their assent. Before Lucius could reply, Kingsley called upon Scorpius Malfoy to understand the full story. Dominique was a little confused, because from the knowledge she had gained, only the accused brought in a representative and a witness. As Kingsley began to talk, she turned his attention to him.<p>

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you need to reply honestly. Do you understand?" he said pointedly. Scorpius nodded. "When did you see your sister acting strangely?"  
>"At New Year's when my mother, father and I went to see her off on the platform. She acted too friendly," Scorpius said, glancing up his mother every second word.<br>"And why wouldn't a girl like Alexandra be friendly to her younger brother?" Kingsley pressed.  
>"We've always kept to ourselves. When she moved to Hogwarts, I travelled with my parents. She keeps her distance and I keep mine."<br>Kingsley looked up at Astoria. "She stayed with her grandfather?"  
>Astoria nodded stiffly, a tear rolling down her cheek. Kingsley didn't push it, and turned back to Scorpius.<br>"Would you say that your sister is easy prey? That is to say, do you think she's weak?" Kingsley asked, treading carefully. He genuinely didn't want to hurt the Malfoy family, but at the end of the day, he needed to do his job.  
>"No, not at all."<br>"Thank you, Mr Malfoy. You may go sit down. Mr Parkinson?"

Ethan stood up.  
>"You have been friends with Alexandra since your childhood, is this correct?" Kingsley prompted.<br>"Yes, sir."  
>"When did <em>you <em>notice a change in her?"  
>"I...well...uh...she asked me...to help her," Ethan stammered. "She told me the plan..."<br>"I told her he could tell Parkinson," Lucius interrupted.  
>"Shut up!" Draco snarled.<br>Ethan continued, ignoring the two older men, "And because my mother is...quite fond of the Malfoy family...and because we had been friends for so long...and you know, she'd do the same for me...so I decided to help her."  
>"You didn't care about the consequences?"<br>"I didn't think," Ethan admitted. Pansy Parkinson put her head in her hands. "I just assumed that...you know, she finally wanted to act like a Slytherin."  
>Victoire hissed quietly in her chair. Dominique patted her hand.<br>"So you helped her to what? Humiliate Miss Weasley?"  
>"Yes. I just followed Alex's lead."<br>Kingsley nodded. "Miss Weasley?"

Dominique stood up, glared at Lucius before looking at the Minister.  
>"You befriended Alexandra on your first day at Hogwarts?"<br>Dominique nodded.  
>"Can you describe what she was like?"<br>"She was...she was nice and friendly...and she made me feel like I...I belonged in Slytherin. She had my back..."  
>"Until after the Christmas break, when she started spreading rumours about you," Kingsley prompted.<br>"Yeah, at first, I thought it was my cousin, Roxanne...but then I found out that Alex was behind it. And I needed to find out the truth."  
>"How did you do that?"<br>"I may have borrowed some Veritaserum..."  
>"May have?"<br>"Okay, I did borrow some. But I got the information that I wanted," Dominique said, wiping her sweaty hands on her leggings.  
>"What did you do when you got the information?"<br>"I tried to talk her out of it," Dominique replied. "She threatened to hex me if I got in her way."  
>"Did you get in her way?"<br>"No, I stayed out of it until Parkinson came running to me on the train."  
>Kingsley nodded, "Very well. Mr Nicholson, can you take it from here, please?"<br>Dominique sat down, and Callum stood up.

"What happened on the train?" Kingsley asked  
>"Ethan came into our compartment...he was worried about Alex," Callum recounted. "I volunteered to talk to her."<br>"Did she talk to you?"  
>"No, she didn't speak. She was acting weird though, like...she didn't want me there."<br>"And then she strangled you?"  
>"After I told her that I wouldn't hurt her. Now I know that it reminded her of what [he] said to her," Callum shuddered.<br>"Do you think she was fighting the curse?"  
>"Yes. She was aware of it...but like Mr Potter told us, she had been damaged by Dark Magic...she knew she was doing it, but she didn't know...if that made any sense..."<br>"Perfect sense, Mr Nicholson. Thank you, you may sit down."

Kingsley surveyed the room. "I cannot stress enough how utterly disgusting and traumatic this must be for the Malfoy family. For the past seventeen years, they've been trying their best to move their name from being associated with Voldemort and the Dark side...to have something like this happen is very unfortunate. Now I must ask you to think about what this man did to his own family. It is almost time to come to a decision of his fate."  
>After some wait time, Susan Bones spoke up. "Those in favour of clearing the accused of all charges?"<br>Nobody put their hand up.  
>"And those in favour of conviction?"<br>Everyone in the room, including Draco and Astoria, put their hands up.  
>"Convicted to a life sentence in Azkaban," Susan said loudly. "Good day to you all."<p>

Before they left, Draco caught up with Dominique. "I know you want to visit Alexandra, but it will have to wait until next week."  
>Dominique nodded, showing him that she understood. Fleur and Bill waited anxiously for her by the door, watching Lucius being dragged away by the Aurors. Callum and Ethan, who had become fast friends because of this, stood by as well.<br>"Let's leave this mess behind," Dominique said as she approached them.

* * *

><p><strong>PRESENT DAY<strong>

_"Who are you?" she asked._

"Her memory has been modified. Everything from the past year has been forgotten," Draco informed them.  
>"Hi, I'm Dominique Weasley," Dominique said, sticking out her hand. Alexandra smiled at her, "A Weasley huh? Don't tell me, you're in Gryffindor and we'll have to pretend to be enemies like my father and your Uncle Harry?"<br>Draco chuckled.  
>"Actually, no, I'm in Slytherin," Dominique smiled back.<br>"Great, so am I, apparently," Alexandra said. "I'm sure we'll be great friends."  
>"Yes, I'm sure we will," Dominique agreed.<br>Fleur looked at Draco and smiled. Maybe this mess was finally over.

* * *

><p><em>'The Daily Prophet,<br>__BREAKING NEWS__: Lucius Malfoy DEAD – Reported by your Daily Prophet correspondent: Rita Skeeter.  
><em>_It has been confirmed by the Ministry of Magic that Malfoy, aged 60, has died. He was found by Azkaban guards in his prison cell. There was no note, but one can assume that the reasoning behind this could be associated with the outcome of his hearing a few weeks ago. His will will be read to his family in the next week or so. The contents of the will, it has been confirmed, will not be released to the public.'_

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Like I said, not my favourite chapter...I hope it was alright! Tell me what you think?

Oh, and yes, Ethan Parkinson is Pansy's son...he took her last name because...well...let's just say that he doesn't really know who his father is...and Pansy would rather not bring him into their lives.

Also, you won't be finding out how Lucius died - I'll leave that for you to decide. I feared that writing it into the story would make it too...dark, and I really didn't want to hurt anyone who knew of someone in the situation that I had planned. So yeah, all you need to know is that he is now deceased.

Until next Wednesday...fingers crossed I get it done by then...haha! :) x


	9. Lost and Found

_**A/N:**__ It's been a while since I posted on time, haha. Well, technically…I'm an hour late, as it's 1am (Thursday) in Australia right now. Please excuse any spelling and grammatical mistakes – my brain LOVES to play tricks on me, especially this late at night. Anyways, here is chapter nine…finally. _

_In this chapter, we see Alex as the person she was before she came to Hogwarts, but she also relapses back to the person we came to know – I guess that's who she is as a person. She's changed though._

_Also, there's this super long conversation in the chapter...just assume that it takes place within a few minutes...conversations are usually pretty quick right? And assume that no one thinks anything is wrong...or different. Yeah, you'll know it when you read it._

_**Shoutout to: **_misspotter94, _who has uploaded the first chapter of her Scorpius/Lily sequel – check it out if you've the time! _

_**Disclaimer:**_ JKR owns all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine: Lost and Found<strong>

"Wingardium Leviosa," Dominique said.  
>"Wingardium Leviosa," Alexandra repeated.<br>"Don't forget the movement: swish and flick," Dominique reminded her.  
>Alexandra waved her wand in the air, muttering the words, but nothing happened. She dropped her arm in frustration.<br>"Here, watch," Dominique said. She waved her wand, "Wingardium Leviosa." The feather in front of her rose into the air.  
>Alexandra nodded to herself, "You can do this." She attempted the spell again and to her surprise, her feather joined Dominique's up in the air. They cheered until Dominique put her finger to her lip and made a shushing noise.<br>"What is it?" Alexandra whispered.  
>"Someone is standing at the door," Dominique said. "I'm going to go investigate!"<br>Alexandra giggled, "Okay."

Dominique pressed her ear up against the door, mentally cursing herself for forgetting her pair of Extendable Ears.  
>"-it's been an absolute nightmare," a male voice said hurriedly. "The Ministry is now enquiring as to how he died."<br>"Zat is terrible," a female voice replied. Dominique realised that it was her mother out there...possibly talking to Mr Malfoy.  
>"Yes, it is. Scorpius has gone to live with his Aunt Daphne until this is all sorted," Draco told her. "I only hope that it will be over soon."<br>"How is Astoria?" Fleur enquired.  
>"Shaken," Draco said. "But she'll be okay. Thank you so much for letting Dominique help Alex in recovering."<br>"Of course, they were friends before, why shouldn't zat be the case now?"

Dominique moved away from the door.  
>"Who was it?" Alexandra asked curiously.<br>"Your father and my mother," Dominique replied.  
>"Aww, does that mean you're going now?"<br>Dominique nodded, "My grandmother invited us over for dinner."  
>At that moment, Fleur and Draco entered the room.<br>"Hello Alexandra, 'ow are you?" Fleur asked kindly.  
>"I'm fine thank you, Mrs Weasley," Alexandra said. She grinned at Dominique before adding, "Watch this, father!"<br>Draco raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.  
>"Wingardium Leviosa!" she cried. Her feather lifted off the bed sheets and into the air.<br>Draco moved over to where Alexandra sat, and kissed the top of her head. "I am so proud of you."  
>"Um...gotta go now. Bye Mr Malfoy, bye Alex!" Dominique said, after trying to decipher the message her mother was trying to send her from across the room.<br>"Bye Dom, see you soon?"  
>Dominique looked to her mother, who nodded.<br>"See you soon."

St Mungo's was filled with people, as always, bustling about, minding their own business. Fleur and Dominique weaved in and out of patients and visitors. Fleur kept her head up, walking quickly. Dominique watched her feet as she walked, her eyes glued to the ground.  
>"Oi! Watch where you're going!" a voice rang out as she bumped into someone. Dominique looked up.<br>"Parkinson..." she said slowly, as she recognised the boy.  
>"Oh, it's you, Weasley," Ethan said. He glanced over to his mother, who was talking to the Welcome Witch.<br>Dominique raised an eyebrow at him, "Are you visiting Alex?"  
>He nodded and asked concernedly, "Is she well?"<br>"Yes," Dominique replied. She looked around as she heard her name.  
>"Allons-y, Dominique! Vite, vite!" Fleur turned around and realised that her daughter was no longer following her.<br>"Um, I have to go now..." Dominique said, a little awkwardly. She and Ethan had never spoken one-on-one before.  
>"Yeah, so do I..." he said, glancing at his mother.<br>"Bye..."  
>"See ya," he smirked at her. She just rolled her eyes, and followed her mother.<p>

* * *

><p>"Finally!" Bill said, when he saw Fleur and Dominique walk through the door. "What took you so long?"<br>"Dominique had some socialising to do," Fleur replied, smiling to show that she wasn't mad.  
>"Hey Vic," Dominique sat down next to her sister. "What did I miss?"<br>"Only James and Albus fighting over who gets to ride the new Firebolt 2 first," Victoire said seriously. James and Albus scowled. The other Weasley cousins roared with laughter.  
>"Who won?" Dominique asked, piling some of Grandma Weasley's homemade pasta onto her plate.<br>"I did, of course," James grinned. Albus pouted. They all laughed again.  
>"Rose, put the book down while you're at the table," Aunt Hermione scolded.<br>"So did the Chudley Cannons end up winning a game this Quidditch season?" Teddy brought up the topic. Aunts Hermione and Audrey groaned, while the others joined in the conversation energetically.  
>"One game," Uncle Ron said proudly.<br>Aunt Angelina and Uncle George shook their heads, chuckling.  
>"Oh, Dominique, are you still a Seeker for the Slytherin team?" Uncle Harry asked.<br>"I'm not sure," Dominique replied. "I didn't talk to Goyle about it before the end of term. I guess I'll try out again next year..."  
>"That isn't fair!" Roxanne said loudly. "I've seen you play, and you're brilliant!"<br>"Yeah, you bet our team, 150-0, in your first game!" Fred backed up his sister.  
>"Aw thanks guys," Dominique said, feeling very humbled. "We'll have to see, alright?"<br>"I'm going to get onto the team," James said confidently. Fred raised an eyebrow at him.  
>"Don't bother trying out for Beater," he said. "I've got that position covered."<br>"For your information, I will be trying out for Chaser," James said loudly.  
>"So am I!" Lily piped up.<br>"Lil...you're not going to Hogwarts anytime soon..." James said, not realising how harsh it had sounded.  
>Lily sighed. Aunt Ginny glared at her eldest son for making her only daughter sad.<br>"A girl can dream, can't she?" Aunt Ginny said. Lily gave her a small smile, as some of the adults around the table murmured in agreement.

Grandma Weasley came into the room and stood behind Teddy. She put her hands on his shoulders.  
>"Our little Teddy is going into his Seventh year this year!" she said proudly.<br>"Gran, I'm not little," Teddy said.  
>"Anymore," Lucy added. A few people chuckled.<br>"That's right, Luce, I'm not little anymore," Teddy said, a little embarrassed that all the attention had turned to him.  
>Grandma Weasley seemed to notice Teddy tense up, because she directed her attention to Dominique and Roxanne.<br>"I heard that you two received great exam marks?"  
>"They were the top of their year," Bill said proudly. He looked at Hermione, who was beaming at them.<br>"Victoire, are you worried for your OWLs?" Aunt Hermione asked. Victoire shrugged. "If you need help of any kind -"  
>"Don't ask me because I'll probably give you the wrong answers," Uncle Ron interrupted. Aunt Hermione paused to glare at her husband.<br>"As I was saying before Ronald rudely interrupted, if you ever need help, I'm always here," Aunt Hermione finished off.  
>"Ah, but Hermione," Fleur spoke up. "You forget that Victoire's father - my husband - came out the top of his year as well. He will be the one to help her eef she ever needs help."<br>Dominique watched her mother curiously. However, Grandpa Weasley cleared his throat to stop Hermione from retaliating.  
>"Let's go to the seaside, shall we?" he said. "You lot have been inside all day, we all need some fresh air."<p>

* * *

><p>The summer passed by quickly, with Dominique enjoying the time she had with all her cousins. She frequently visited Alexandra to help her catch up on the schoolwork that had been wiped from her memory. She saw Callum a few times, and occasionally ran into Ethan Parkinson at St. Mungo's. It would have been a good summer, had it not been for the nightmares. Dominique felt haunted by the death of Lucius Malfoy - he had that god-awful plan to bring revenge onto her family, and she had been the first victim. His granddaughter had recovered, but her memory had been wiped. Dominique's hadn't. Her mother, who had noticed that something was wrong, occasionally concocted a potion for her, but Bill had stopped her because he believed that Dominique would recover from them, and numbing the pain wasn't going to make anything better.<p>

He was right. By the time she had to go back to Hogwarts, Dominique no longer had nightmares. In fact, she enjoyed her dreamless sleep so much that she slept through her alarm on September the 1st.  
>"Dominique, wake up!" Victoire, who was usually an early riser, yelled. Dominique heard her move down the hall to bang on Louis's door. "Louis! Time to get up!"<br>Dominique glanced at the clock and sat bolt upright. 10.15am. The train left in 45 minutes, and she was still in her pyjamas! Hating the fact that she had little time to get ready, she began chucking her belongings into her trunk.

Hurrying onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters, Dominique missed all the glances thrown at her by the other students and their parents. Her father helped to put her trunk into the compartment that she was going to be sharing with Alexandra, and then it was time to say goodbye. Her mother was a little teary, and Louis waved sadly at his two elder sisters. Her father hugged them both and made them promise to write. The whistle blew, and Victoire and Dominique scrambled onto the train. As it picked up speed, Victoire left her for her own compartment of friends. Dominique went to close the door of her own compartment when she noticed some third-years staring at her.  
>"There's that weird Weasley!" she heard one of them say. She scowled and slammed the door shut.<p>

* * *

><p>"Not the way you want to be starting the year, huh?" Callum asked Dominique quietly, after she had told him what that third-year had said.<br>"No," she replied, equally quietly. Alexandra and Ethan were chatting quietly by the window; Callum and Dominique were sitting by the door.  
>"What are you two whispering about?" Alexandra demanded.<br>"Nothing!" they said quickly. Callum gave Dominique a knowing look before moving over to join in with the conversation.

As a second-year, Dominique would not be crossing the Lake to get to the castle, as she had done in her first year. Instead, she followed the crowd out to the other side of the station platform, where hundreds of carriages awaited the students. Horseless carriages, Dominique remembered. She clambered into one with Alexandra. Her old Slytherin friends joined them.  
>Alexandra looked at Dominique blankly. Dominique stared back, wondering why Alexandra was looking at her like that.<br>"Good summer, Alex?" Spencer Richardson asked.  
>"Uh...yeah," Alexandra smiled. "You?"<br>"Oh, it was okay," Spencer said. "How was yours?" She turned to the other girls.  
>Dominique watched Alexandra attempt to remember who Spencer was talking to, and it finally registered with her that Alexandra had forgotten, though not on purpose, who these girls were.<br>"Spencer," Dominique addressed the right girl. She saw Alexandra throw her a grateful look. "You promised to write this summer, you too, Tessa, and Cass." She looked at each girl for a brief amount of time, so Alexandra could put names to faces, before moving onto the next.  
>"Sorry, Dom, we were busy," Cassidy smirked.<br>"It must have slipped our minds," Tessa added.  
>Spencer shrugged at her.<br>"Dom told me that her family played Quidditch all summer," Alexandra said, smiling at her. "I guess they all had to practice seeing as the majority of them make up the Hogwarts House teams."  
>Tessa exchanged a look with Spencer. They had reached the end of the driveway. Dominique hopped out of the carriage first.<br>"Coming?" she looked expectantly at Alexandra.  
>"You go ahead, Dominique," Cassidy said, waving her hand towards the double doors. "We'll be right behind you."<br>Dominique looked at her suspiciously before turning slowly. She took a small step forward, intent on eavesdropping. They closed the carriage door, so she just hung by the window where she could hear everything clearly.  
>"Why are you hanging out with her? She's a loser!" Spencer said scornfully.<br>"She's my friend," Alexandra replied shortly. Dominique had filled her in briefly about her past, and after getting permission to do so from Draco, explained how Alexandra had been not very friendly to her situation, but they had worked things out and overcome all obstacles in the way of their friendship.  
>"She's unstable," Tessa added.<br>"Rumour has it, she visited the hospital more than once this summer," Cassidy said, in a hushed voice. "How do we know that she hadn't killed someone or something? Roxanne was in the Hospital Wing for weeks!"  
>"Oh my Wizard God! Stop! Just stop!" Alexandra stood up. "Dominique is a good person!"<br>The three girls stared at Alexandra dumbfoundedly.  
>"Just last year...you were saying that she's a bad person and we shouldn't go near her," Tessa reminded her.<br>"That was last year," Alexandra said frustratedly. "Things change."  
>Dominique smirked as she heard the conversation unfold.<br>Cassidy raised an eyebrow at Alexandra, who crossed her arms and sighed.  
>"Defeat doesn't suit you," Spencer commented, tilting her head to the side thoughtfully. Alexandra only glared at her.<br>"Come on, we're your friends, you can tell us anything," Tessa said softly. "Whatever happened to all the Slytherins looking out for each other?"  
>Alexandra laughed, "Are you kidding me! You turn your back on Dominique, who, may I remind you is also a <em>Slytherin<em>, and you tell me the importance of sticking together?" She turned her back on them, and muttered to herself, "Unbelievable."  
>"Alex! Wait!" Cassidy called out as Alexandra began to climb out of the carriage. Dominique made sure she was hidden as the door opened.<br>"What?" Alexandra snapped impatiently.  
>"The rumours about her. Are they true? Was she at the hospital all summer?" Cassidy asked.<br>"What's it to you?"  
>"They're only rumours until you confirm them," Cassidy said. "And those two won't admit it, but we rely on you for this kind of thing. Rumours spread like wildfire here, we can either quell them or help them to grow bigger. Your call."<br>Alexandra looked at her, taking in everything that Cassidy had said to her, before saying, "She's been visiting me in St. Mungo's. If you must know, I...I haven't been feeling well. And to top it all off, my grandfather died." She turned and walked away. She spotted Dominique, who had come out of hiding and hurried to catch up to her.  
>"You heard it all?" Alexandra asked.<br>"Everything," Dominique replied. "Thank you."  
>Alexandra nodded. They entered the Great Hall.<p>

* * *

><p>"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat shouted.<br>James Potter grinned widely and joined the cheering Gryffindors. Dominique clapped politely, and watched amusedly as James shook every hand that was thrust his way. She wasn't surprised that he was Sorted into Gryffindor, he may have looked like his father, but he had his mother's fiery passion. She couldn't be more proud of him.

"Dominique?" Cassidy turned to her as soon as the Headmistress concluded her Welcome Speech. "I'm really sorry."  
>"Are you?" Dominique asked, a little skeptically, despite knowing that she and Alex had had a talk earlier that evening.<br>"Yes," Cassidy replied. "I want you to know that those rumours are no longer circulating around the school. And as a fellow Slytherin, I want you to know that I never believed a word of it."  
>"Sure," Dominique said indifferently. Not being one to hold a grudge, Dominique waited until she had cleared her plate before letting Cassidy know that she had been forgiven. She looked toward Spencer and Tessa expectantly.<br>"What she said," Tessa shrugged.  
>"We've missed you, Weasley," Spencer said.<br>Dominique smiled, "I've missed you too."

"Weasley," Travis Goyle approached as the meals on the table transformed into desserts.  
>"Goyle," Dominique faced him.<br>He cleared his throat. "I uh...I want you to know that your position as Seeker on the Slytherin team is still there for you...uh...if you want it and uh -"  
>"Thank you," she said gratefully. "And?"<br>"And...I apologise for the way I acted at the end of last year."  
>Her bemusement must have been visible, because Travis added, "My father taught me many things, and one of the first things I learnt was to always apologise for wrongdoing. He said he regretted not being able to do it in his uh...younger days."<br>"Well, um, thanks, Goyle," Dominique said, surprised that he shared that story with her.  
>"So what do you say? Are you going to be Slytherin's Seeker again?"<br>"Of course," Dominique smiled. Travis made a grimace at her, which Dominique remembered was his way of smiling. She laughed.

"Oi! Weird Weasley!" a Hufflepuff called across the aisle which separated the two Houses.  
>Alexandra turned, "Her name is Dominique. Get it right, Bedford."<br>"And just because someone's weird - not that you're weird, Dom - does not give you any right to label them as that," Tessa piped up.  
>The Hufflepuffs looked at Alexandra in bewilderment.<br>"Malfoy..listen to what you're saying, it doesn't make any sense," one Hufflepuff boy - the one named Bedford - tried to reason with her.  
>"Why not?" Alexandra challenged.<br>"It's okay guys, I can fight my own battles," Dominique stood up. Professor Longbottom noticed the commotion and got out of his seat to have a look.  
>"Thank you though," Domonique directed at her friends. She looked at the Hufflepuffs with disgust, "<em>You<em> know nothing about me, so stay out of my business, and everything will be, as my grandmother phrases it, as peachy as pie."  
>They glared at her, but she didn't notice. She looked around the Great Hall, and caught the eye of each family member that attended Hogwarts. Teddy smiled widely at her, nodding his head in approval as he watched the scene. Fred winked at her, and Roxanne gave her a thumbs-up. Victoire and James cheered wordlessly from the Gryffindor table. She saw Callum, who of course, was not family but instead someone she would consider one of her very best friends, mouth a "well done" to her.<br>"Lose something, Dominique?" Professor Longbottom interrupted as he reached them.  
>"No, I think I've found just about everything I've been looking for."<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**This may or may not be the last chapter of this story (there will be an epilogue... definitely) but I'm hoping that I've tied up all loose ends with this chapter...if not, let me know and I can fix that with an additional chapter or add it into the epilogue or something._

For those who don't know French,

"Allons-y" _means_ "Let's go"_, and_ "Vite, vite" _means_ "Hurry, hurry".

_I really want to thank you all for reading this story - I've gotten such amazing feedback for it, and I really appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you for making me feel warm and fuzzy :) I hope you enjoyed the journey so far. My days as a writer are far from over._

_As always, tell me what you think :) x_


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue - One Year Later**

Dominique was surprised that she had managed to get through her whole second-year without any dramas. It was the complete opposite of her first-year. Now that James Potter was at the school, all the attention shifted to him, and Dominique could get on with her life in peace. Admittedly, there were a few people out there who still liked to pick on her, but she had her friends by her side, and she couldn't be happier. Let them think what they want to think, she told herself.

She reflected on what had changed during her two years at Hogwarts. When she had started as an excited eleven-year-old, she thought that Hogwarts life was going to be great. In her first year, she managed to be Sorted into Slytherin, relive her past, have a fallout with her family, have many arguments with her friends...who for some time weren't her friends...she had unmasked Lucius Malfoy, saved her now best friend from being magically damaged...yes, Dominique thought, she was happy that life was slowing down now. Her relationship with Uncle Ron had changed vastly over the past couple of years too - he was, at first, very cautious about everything he said around her...perhaps afraid that she would spread his secrets to the Slytherins...but he had loosened up to openly admit that even some Slytherins weren't so bad.

Her grandparents, Arthur and Molly, still hosted fortnightly family dinners, where Dominique would join Fred and Roxanne prank various members of the family. Uncle George sometimes helped them, while Aunt Angelina turned a blind eye, apparently oblivious to the whole set-up. James had, as he had predicted, gotten onto the Gryffindor Quidditch Team as Chaser and, though his mother specifically told him not to, he still teased his younger sister about it. Lucy and Molly still drove their parents crazy with worry by being adventurous - like climbing a tree. Uncle Percy often voiced his concern of where his children got the adventure genes from because neither he nor Audrey were at all the exploring type. Uncle Charlie had taken the past year off work - which was still dealing with dragons in Romania - to help Hagrid with the animals that he used for Care of Magical Creatures. Uncle Ron was making very subtle attempts to convert Hugo, who was a Puddlemere United fanatic, into a fan of Chudley Cannons, but every time he brought it up, the rest of the family shot him down. He just laughed at them, telling them that one day, the Chudley Cannons would come out on top, to which, the family told him to dream on. Aunt Hermione had started giving Rose some of her old school books to read, with the hope that her daughter would become the brightest witch of her year. Uncle Harry was still Dominique's favourite uncle - he constantly brought her, and his children of course, gifts, and gave her tips on how to become a better Seeker. Aunt Ginny was still the Daily Prophet's Quidditch correspondent, where she enjoyed exposing the talents of all her nieces and nephews. Albus often helped to write her articles. Teddy had finished his seventh-year with flying colours, and went straight to the Ministry to join the Auror department.

Louis was still anxiously awaiting his Hogwarts letter which, as Dominique constantly reminded him, wouldn't be coming for another three years. Victoire had passed her OWLs and was now in the NEWT period, studying to become a Healer. Fleur still floated around Shell Cottage, cleaning and looking after Louis, but she had also joined her husband in his line of work at Gringotts, though only part-time. Bill was still enjoying his role as the curse-breaker of Gringotts, so when they offered him a full-time job as a wizard representative, he turned it down, even though the pay rise would mean that he and his family would never have to work again.

The Malfoys were now living in a world that accepted them for who they are - genuinely nice people. Dominique and Alexandra's friendship strengthened the bond between the two families, and Ron even shook Draco's hand now, even though he made it clear that he still did not like or trust the other man. Scorpius, who had lived with his Aunt Daphne and her family for some time, came back home to a welcoming family. His grandfather's death was always a subject of concern, but as he was never close to the man, he didn't dwell on it. As his first-year loomed nearer, he focused on enjoying life as it came at him, and comforting his mother because she often burst into tears, grieving his loss from the house before he had even left.

Dominique smiled to herself and looked around the Great Hall. Familiar faces jumped out at her, and she nodded to those she usually talked to. Callum gave her a wave from across the room, which she returned. She would have to catch up with him later. She looked up and down the Slytherin table. Spencer, Cassidy and Tessa were chatting animatedly. Alexandra was conversing with Ethan. 'Some things never change,' Dominique thought. The double doors opened and a line of nervous first-years came in.

She spotted her cousins easily. Rose was leading the line - she was the shortest one there, but the way she walked made it feel like she owned the place. Dominique laughed. Albus was talking to Scorpius, at the back of the line. She glanced at James over at the Gryffindor table, but he was deep in conversation with a fellow Lion, and had failed to notice his brother entering the room.

Professor Flitwick called out the names of the first-years and one-by-one, they all got Sorted. Rose got Sorted into Ravenclaw. She skipped toward Callum's table happily. Scorpius was Sorted into Sytherin. Alexandra gave him a big high-five. And Albus?  
>"SLYTHERIN!"<br>He was horror-struck. He looked at his brother, who smirked at him and mouthed, "I told you so." Dominique felt for him, she was in his situation not two years ago. He walked slowly over to the Slytherin table, unable to believe it. He sat down next to Dominique and glanced up and down the table.  
>"What am I going to do?" he muttered so that only Dominique could hear. "I really thought I was going to be in Gryffindor...I really wanted to be in Gryffindor."<br>She didn't reply, but reached out to hug him.  
>"It's okay," she said softly. "You're with me, and as long as I'm here, you don't have to worry."<br>"I know," Albus sighed. "James is going to give me so much grief though."  
>Dominique grinned, "Bring it on."<br>She let go and gave Albus a high-five.  
>"Thank you. I don't feel so lost with you here," he said. She smiled at him and he turned to watch the rest of the first-years get Sorted.<p>

_The End.  
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><p><strong><em>AN:_** **I took a leaf out of **misspotter94**'s book and mentioned what the whole Weasley family (+ some others) were up to now, so kuods to her for the idea :)** **I also tried to continue on from JK Rowling's epilogue, where James was teasing Albus about getting into Slytherin. Anyway, I really do hope you like it, as that's the end of this story! Let me know if you think I missed anything, or if you don't think that that was a good ending, or, if you've nothing but praise, I'd love to hear it too ;)**

**Thank you to all who have stuck with this story from the very beginning, and to all those who have come in halfway through - I really do appreciate it and love you all for it. Keep an eye out for more of my stuff - coming soon! :) Thank you! x**

**Disclaimer: JK Rowling is my Queen.**


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